Human Curiosity
by Super Sister
Summary: ... It takes the biscuit, kills the cat and leaves the nations broken. (being edited)
1. prologue

_Date: Unknown  
>Place: Unknown. Presumably either North or South Pole.<em>

_We staged a successful escape, but I was unable to escape with them. This is my final note to anyone who ever finds me. I don't know if my sisters managed to escape. I don't know if my friends escaped. However, if they did, please tell them I love them very much (Yes, tell even my younger sister this). And do not mourn me. My nation still exists after all, even if I am dead. I am sad to say that the gas has begun to block my memories, I am slowly forgetting things, I have already forgotten my name. I guess it's best to go if you're unable to even remember your own name...  
><em>

_See you in the place __we all go to after it happens._

_Love from I.B. Prisoner 93  
><em>

* * *

><p>Dear Journal (cause no matter what he says, diary's what a girl uses)<p>

I'm sad to say that the lead I've been looking into was another dead-end. But I've gotta stay optimistic! And positive! I know the others are out there somewhere, it's not like they'd just disappear off the face of the earth! Although, that's exactly what happened... Anyway, moving all that emotional crap aside, there was naturally something positive about the red herring. I managed to get another criminal empire to collapse, which is totally heroic and epic... I would have preferred to find one of us though. If I found a nation for every criminal empire that seems to have sprung up in recent times, I would have probably found everyone by now. But as said, stay positive! I'll be keepin my eyes peeled for anything worth looking into. Until then, adios!

A.F. Jones, United States of America

* * *

><p><strong>The rewrite of the prologue. Before it was some kitshy crap about it being hard, being one of the few nations left and it disagreed with me. Changed prologue to something more appropiate (coughcoughmorenangsty!). Can anyone guess who I.B. Prisoner 93 is?<strong>

**For new readers: Hello! This is Human Curiosity, enjoy reading :D  
><strong>


	2. Falling and Awakening

Panic. Fear. Falling. Smashing. Pain. Noise.

Light.

It was morning.

Arthur groaned, as he slowly woke up from a dream he was quickly forgetting. His alarm clock lay on the floor. The batteries had fallen out. Arthur, of course, didn't know this. He ran a hand through his hair, noting that it was wet. He'd need a shower.

He hated his dreams. He didn't know why he got them or even what they were about, but he knew one thing. His bad days always started with a vivid, horrific and usually quickly forgotten dream. And unfortunately for him, he dreamt a lot.

He yawned and considered getting up. He knew he had to get ready for work, but his alarm clock hadn't rang yet, so he had time to relax. Besides, his bed was nice and warm.

_Strange_. Arthur thought, stretching a little. _I always fall in dreams… Always falling… I wonder why._

"Arthur? Arthur, are you only getting up _now?_" someone suddenly asked. Arthur slowly sat up, opening his eyes.

"Uh… Maybe?" he asked, blinking a few times. Why did she sound so worried?

… How late _was_ it?

"Arthur, you have to leave for work in half an hour!"

"Ah. Oh. Shoot." he muttered, throwing the duvet onto the ground. So the alarm hadn't gone off. Again. Wonderful start to a wonderful morning.

He hated those bloody dreams.

"Hey, Maria, did you make any breakfast?" he called down the hallway, hurriedly slamming his bedroom door shut to get dressed.

The woman sighed.

"Of course. But it's a little cold now-"

"That's fine! At least I'll have something to eat…" he muttered, buttoning his shirt. Oh wait. He was covered in sweat… Arthur groaned and got to his knees. He started touching the floor, searching around his room for a towel. He knew he'd dropped one on the floor last night, so…

His fingers brushed against a rough, but soft surface. He hurriedly grabbed the towel, opened the door and slid into the bathroom.

"Listen, Arthur, I need to go out now, remember to lock up this time!" Maria shouted up the stairs. "And don't do anything stupid! Just go straight to work!" she added.

"I will!" Arthur replied, hurriedly getting ready for a shower. He heard Maria shut the door. No clicking. She'd left the front door open. _If she locked the door, maybe I'd stop forgetting to lock it… _Arthur thought. When he left, he often forgot his keys. If the door was locked, he'd have to unlock it, meaning he'd have his keys with him…

_Oh, never mind. Just need to hurry up and get to work, _he thought, turning the shower on.

Once under it, he could relax a little.

He'd have a quick shower, get dressed, have breakfast, brush his teeth and then possibly comb his hair, if he had enough time. He rubbed his eyes again, blinking a few times. Oh yes. And find his glasses. He'd forgotten about those…

No. Every morning, he automatically reached out for them… Which meant he must have knocked them from their usual spot during sleep, meaning…

Oh, it was going to take forever to find them.

… Well, he was probably going to be late for work anyway. It wasn't like his day was going to get any worse.

* * *

><p>"Who's idea was this anyway, aru?" China asked. His arms were folded and he wore a scowl that could compete with England's. It was winter, it was cold and he hated being stuck in America. Since the… Well…<p>

China hated being out of his home. He felt happier when he stayed where he belonged. He wasn't a huge fan of leaving his country anymore.

But it seemed, the sentiment was shared with the others present. China and a few other nations were waiting an arranged meeting point. Unfortunately, the nation that had _caused _them all this grief was present, so they couldn't complain about it _too much. _America was already fidgety enough, without them telling him how they felt about this whole… _idea _of his.

Of course, the reason _why _America was fidgeting, wasn't because he was for whatever reason nervous, but because he was feeling increasingly guilty for randomly calling them up for a get-together. He had learnt to _read the mood _to an extent some time ago, though it was a skill he hadn't told the others about.

"… It was mine." America admitted after a moment, grinning widely, doing his best to appear happy. "My boss thinks I need to socialize more with my 'kind' and I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time, so I went with it." America left a pause, hoping someone would talk, but they remained silent. He continued grinning. "Man, it feels like it's been a century since I've last seen you all!" he added, attempting to get a conversation going. But the other nations cringed and looked away.

It _had_ almost been a century since they'd last seen each other. But no one was in a hurry to point this out. They were all well aware of this. It took a moment for America to also realise this.

"So..." Germany started, wanting to change subject. "Where are we eating anyway?"

"Oh, it's a really cool restaurant that's opened recently!" America replied, relived that at least _someone _other than himself was talking. "It's completely dark inside, so you can't see a thing! Basically, it's sorta supposed to show you what it'd be like if you were a blind dude or whatever! And get this, _all_ the waiters and waitresses are blind! It's so _awe- _Cool!"

America smiled, trying to hide his nervousness and regretting what he'd almost said. Germany was looking at his shoes, no longer in any sociable mood (if he ever had been). It seemed further conversation wouldn't continue. _Why did I say that, _America complained in his head. He, and everyone else, was aware of how sensitive Germany was about anything that even remotely reminded him of Prussia.

America berated himself in his mind, frustrated by his own stupidity (a habit he'd developed since _they _disappeared...)

Sure, Prussia was supposed to disappear when his country did, but apparently a nation could carry on living as their own entity... Not that anyone understood this. Then again, no one _wanted_ to understand this.

They all just assumed that Prussia was a unique case, an abnormality. And everyone was cool with it. Until he disappeared.

It was silent and America decided he was fed up of trying to break the ice, since he had a habit of always putting repairing it. Let someone else make their waiting less awkward and more comfortable.

It didn't take long for Spain to try and break the ice.

"Do they serve anything with tomatoes?" he asked. His question successfully derailed America's train of thought, as he, after a short pause, turned his head to look at the Spaniard.  
>"Hm, wha-?"<p>

"Do they serve anything with tomatoes?" Spain asked again. America smiled, once again.

"Yeah, course they do! They got the menu outside, so you don't have to see it inside, since inside it's completely dark n'all, so you can't see what you're ordering anyways and…" America rambled, quite happily and, unfortunately, loudly. With the silence probably permanently destroyed, the nations started listening to the American witter on, while waiting for the last party member to arrive.

* * *

><p>Arthur was definitely having a <em>good<em> day.

By some God-blessed miracle, he had actually arrived _on time _for work and that without even stressing!

Also, he had somehow managed to avoid Feliciano's morning greeting (which everyone agreed, was a bit _too_ friendly) andhad met and served plenty of pleasant, but hungry, diners. No annoying, rude or idiotic customers so far!

On top of _that_, he'd been allowed to cook! He had actually been allowed to _cook_! Not for the customers, of course, but his co-workers let him make lunch for once! (although, he was pretty sure he'd been making toast… So he wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up with pasta…)

"... Maybe the world doesn't hate me, for a change." Arthur joked, happily to himself.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Feliciano asked. He was sitting next to him, likewise eating pasta… Which suspiciously tasted a _lot _like Arthur's…

"Oh, er… Did I say that out loud?" the Brit asked. He'd forgotten that Feliciano was sitting next to him. Usually the Italian was loud and notably quite present, but for whatever reason, today he was rather quiet.

"Sì," Feliciano replied.

"Oh, well, er… I just mean that today's been a very good day," Arthur explained.

"Ah! Sì! I agree with you completely! All day, all I've had to make was delicious pasta! That's _never_ happened before! I'm so happy, I could just… ve~!" Feliciano chirped, happily.

So Arthur wasn't the only one having a good day?

… So why was Feliciano so quiet?

"Arthur-san, do you mind if you take over the reservation?" a voice suddenly spoke up. Arthur jumped and looked around, despite this action being pointless. He already knew who had spoken and it wasn't like he could actually _see_.

"W-when did you get here?" he joked, trying to hide his surprise. He hadn't heard Kiku enter the staffroom, neither had he heard anyone walk up to them. Sometimes he swore that Kiku was a ghost or a ninja or something. Arthur continued.

"Isn't suddenly appearing out of nowhere Mattie's job?"

No one laughed. Feliciano muttered a confused "ve~" and "who's Mattie?", while Kiku was silent, for the briefest of moments. It seemed that in that brief moment, Feliciano finally realised that Kiku was present.

"Ve~! Kiku! I haven't talked to you all day!" Feliciano said, jumping out of his seat. Kiku hesitantly took a step back.

"Er… It's nice to hear you too Feliciano, please sit down again." Kiku said, trying to hide his fear, as the Italian approached him for a hug. Arthur ate some more pasta. So _that _was why Feliciano had been upset. Kiku had also been avoiding surprise hugs…

Arthur, a little bit miffed, ate some more pasta. Kiku never simply called him _Arthur_, it was always _Arthur-san. _It bothered him that Kiku didn't consider Arthur close enough to drop the suffix completely, like with the Italian…

Sadly, Arthur didn't feel he could complain about something like that.

If Kiku didn't consider him a close friend, then he didn't consider him a close friend. And that was that.

Feliciano sat down, in his original spot next to Arthur.

"But I haven't seen you all day..." Feliciano whined, sounding a bit like a hurt puppy.

"You saw me this morning." Kiku corrected.

"No, I _heard _you. That's not the same as seeing!" Feliciano continued, sounding more and more sad.

"I'm afraid I cannot help you there," Kiku replied. So Feliciano _still _hadn't gotten that chance to hug Kiku. And the Japanese man was still avoiding it. That was a first. Usually he'd snap by this point and let the Italian hug him… Apparently not so today.

Feliciano poked at his pasta, pouting, not that either of his friends could see him do this.

"So, is it all right with you, Arthur-san?" Kiku asked Arthur, returning his attention to the Brit.

"Hm?" he asked in reply, as he'd been too busy sulking about the whole suffix thing.

"Do you mind if you take over the reservation? It's just that Mathew-san has suddenly gotten a cold, so we had to send him back home. And now we're more understaffed than before. I'm already covering for so many… So do you mind taking over the reservation?"

Arthur knew what Kiku meant by 'the reservation'. The _first _reservation ever in their restaurant, everyone simply referred to it as _the _reservation.

Apparently, a bunch of government officials had booked a table for lunch. Wasn't the restaurant a bit too adventurous for something that serious? It didn't matter and if they wanted to eat at their place, who was complaining? A paying customer was a paying customer after all.

"I don't mind. I mean, as you said, everyone else is already covering for at least one person, so it's only fair I cover for someone too…"

"Thank you Arthur-san." Kiku replied, sounding relieved.

"Ve~ Maybe you could suggest that the reservationists eat pasta!" Feliciano suggested. Arthur rolled his eyes (he wasn't sure why, it just felt _right_).

"I'll suggest it if anyone doesn't know what to order..." Arthur said, his voice flat. He turned his head to the door, when he heard someone open it.

"Guys, heads-up, we're opening soon, so finish your food and get ready for work again," their boss, Mr Connors, said.

Arthur hurriedly finished his food. _Time for work, _he thought.

* * *

><p>"America, aru, you didn't say that each table was in its own, little room."<p>

"Well, I've never _eaten_ here before!", America quickly defended himself, as he opened a door labelled 'Ten'. The group had entered the restaurant… But then they got confused and didn't know what to do… So they walked further into the restaurant.

And now they've discovered that every table in the building had its own little room.

"Ah, sirs!" A waitress suddenly said, from behind them. They turned around.

"Ah, hola miss…" Spain greeted, smiling pleasantly. She didn't react. Possibly because she was distracted by the many plates she was balancing in her arms… And the dark glasses she had on her nose. The Spaniard's charm had no affect on her. Well, unless he talked some more.

The waitress merely frowned though.

"I'm afraid you can't go in there. That room's been reserved-" she explained.

"For one-thirty, right?" America asked.

"Um... Yes. That's right," the waitress replied.

"Don't worry, aru. He's the one who made the reservation," China said, pointing at America.

"Really?" the woman asked. Her face was slightly scrunched. She didn't believe them. "How many are here? No, a better question, _why_ aren't you waiting in the reception area?"

The nations fell silent for a moment, before Germany nudged America to speak up (America had previously been too embarrassed to speak, seeing as he was the one who hadn't been patient enough to wait in the reception area).

"We're four people... The fifth guy that going to come cancelled... He didn't actually give a reason, he just flat out decided to-"

"Ah, the last one's busy with official business, back in his home country." Spain interrupted, smiling to the waitress (not that she could see it). The waitress didn't react for a moment. She still didn't seem to trust them. But then she sighed tiredly.

"Fine, I'll assume you _are_ the guys who reserved that table," she said, letting her head hang a little. She then stood straight again, smiling.

"Welcome to Blind Sense. Let me just get your waiter. Enter the room, he'll be a long shortly."

"'Our waiter? Don't you dudes just serve us-"

"We have a system sir. Please, just wait for your waiter at your table. These plates are getting heavy and I'm sure my guests are hungry," the girl snapped impatiently, as she slid past them and entered room 15.

"Huh. Rude much? Good thing we don't have her as our waitress, right?" America asked.

The other nations ignored him and entered the room, America hurriedly following after them. To their surprise, there was a small room before the actual dining room.

"This is probably to stop light from entering it, aru." China explained, noticing the confusion on America's face.

"I knew that!" he snapped. "Let's just get to our table."

They entered the actual dining room and closed the door behind themselves. They stumbled into the next room, eventually finding chairs after bumping into each other and a table.

"Well, that has got to be the strangest thing that's happened to me in a century..." Germany commented.

"It could have been worse. France could have been here..." Spain said jokingly, a sad smile crossing his face briefly, not that the other three countries could see it now.

The nations present muttered something in agreement, but Spain's offhand comment had made the atmosphere depressing and sad. It wasn't much better than the situation being awkward and uncomfortable.

"We should really leave the past in the past, aru..." China finally said, bringing the other countries out of their thoughts. They weren't sure what to say to that, so they let an uncomfortable silence settle, as they quietly let China's comment stir several unwanted thoughts in their heads.

At least they weren't sad anymore.

America rested his head in his hands. Too bad he only now remembered why he'd been avoiding the other nations in the first place. They just couldn't get rid of that nasty habit of talking about the others.

"There's a cold going around in Canada." America suddenly said.

"Where?" the others asked, simultaneously. They then shuddered. No one liked hearing multiple voices saying the exact same thing at the exact same time.

"Canada...? You know, the country just a couple miles north of here? Land of Maple Syrup?"

"Oh." Spain said.

"Ah yes, Canada, I remember now, aru."

"Yeah... Well, pretty much all the country's contaminated… It's spread a little bit into the US, but not enough for me to fall ill... I think this town has been hit by it though," America continued.

"At least it's nothing too serious," Spain commented, thinking Malaria outbreaks during the mid fifties of the twenty-first century.

"Yeah, I guess-" They silenced when they heard a door open and close. Then another.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting sirs! I was a little busy… so..." an apologetic English accent echoed in the room... No one had expected _that_. Man, that voice sounded familiar.

"Can I take your orders?" the man asked.

"I would like the the chinese beef noodle soup, aru!"

"I'd like Bratwurst with a side order of fries. Danke."

"I'd like Roasted Tomato Spanish Rice."

"OK, I'm missing two people now..." the man muttered to himself.

"Nah, just one! Roman-"

"_Lovino_."

"Right, right. Lovino couldn't come." The waiter didn't say anything for a second. The pause was short enough for no one to notice it.

"So what would your order be?"

"A burger!"

There was a long pause, before the waiter found his voice again.

"Didn't you look at the menu before entering?" he asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"Of course I didn't! I mean, you sell Spanish Rice, Chinese Noddles and _Bratwurst_! You have _got_ to be selling burgers!"

There was another pause, before the waiter replied irritated "We do _not_ sell burgers here sir."

"What? What kinda restaurant is this!"

"One that has taste."

"Hey! How dare you insult the bur-"

"Ahem! What would you suggest sir?" Germany quickly interrupted, not wanting to be kicked out of a restaurant. Especially not one in America that offered bratwursts. The waiter was silent for a moment, seemingly composing himself.

"Well..." the waiter said, "... The _cook_ suggested pasta. Not any particular one."

"... I'll take that." America grumbled.

"And what would you like to drink?"

"I'd like a glass of cola. Or is that too _cheap_ for you?" America sneered. The waiter, if he'd ever had composure, lost it.

"I didn't ask _you_ yank."

"Don't you dare call me that!" America snapped back, slamming a hand on the table. Spain quickly interrupted "We'd _all_ like Cola please!"

Again, silence settled in the room.

The waiter eventually opened the doors, slamming the last one shut. After another awkward silence, the three nations heard America mumbling to himself "No _way_ am I leaving that guy a tip."

* * *

><p>"I <em>knew<em> my day was going to be bad! From the very beginning, I _knew_ it! That damn American, he's so obnoxious and _stupid _and..." a frustrated Brit spat out, turning a bright red colour, as he removed several glasses from his serving tray. Feliciano, who had just finished an order, turned to look at Arthur.

"Ve~ It's not that bad Arthur! You've had rude customers before! And aren't we all Americans here?" Arthur silenced, rubbing his temples. Feliciano had a point. Even if he _did_ have an English accent, he had been living in America since he could remember.

Sighing, the man nodded.

"Ve~ See! It's all better now, isn't it?" the Italian asked, smiling. Arthur gave him a faint smile, having guessed from the Italian's disposition that he was probably smiling at him.

"Now, what did they order?" Feliciano asked, taking out a notepad and pen to scribble it down.

Arthur bit his tongue to stop himself starting another rant. Somewhat tiredly, the man began to list their order.  
>"Bratwurst with a side order of chips- er… I mean fries-"<p>

"Ah! Not that tasteless sausage again!" Feliciano moaned. Seriously, did this guy _only _like Italian food? Specifically Pasta?

"- Chinese beef noodle soup, Roasted Tomato Spanish rice..." Arthur suddenly silenced, which was odd, since the Brit had never failed to remember an order before.

"Your missing two orders Arthur." Feliciano said, after waiting for a moment.

"No, I'm not... One of them cancelled."

"OK, so what did the last guy order?" Feliciano asked, patiently.

"... Pasta."

"What kind?"

"He didn't give one. He _sort_ of asked what he should order... You told me earlier to tell them to order pasta, so..."

"VE~ You're the greatest Arthur!" Feliciano beamed happily. Smiling shyly, Arthur _modestly_ brushed off the compliment.

"I'm going to get their colas..." Arthur announced, as the Italian happily started making the food, while singing something about pasta in Italian.

* * *

><p>"Well, I think that meal went well..." China said, placing his knife and fork on his plate. America muttered something about bad service, but otherwise agreed.<p>

They had all eaten their meals and finished their colas, which Spain had hurriedly ordered for _all_ of them without asking. No one minded, since if any of them _didn't _like cola, their food made up for it.

They heard the doors open again and close.

"Have the gents finished?"

"Ja. It was a very good meal. The pasta was extraordinary." Germany said, sounding ever so slightly sad. The pasta had tasted exactly the same as Italy's.

"I thought you had Bratwurst?" the waiter asked, surprised.

"Ja, I did, but... " Germany paused, wondering briefly if he should address America as Alfred or Mr. Jones. "... Alfred wanted to share his meal."

The waiter didn't say anything.

"Seriously, that cook's food was amazing!" Spain said, smiling happily, but like Germany, having a very slight sadness in his voice. Again there was a pause.

The waiter finally said "I'll tell the chef that you enjoyed your meal. Especially the pasta. He'll be very happy knowing that. If you'd like to pay, just go to the reception... Oh, and try to _wait_ for the receptionist this time?"

"How did you even know about that?" America asked surprised.

The waiter didn't reply, having chosen to ignore the American at an earlier point during the meal.

"...Anyway, danke for your services Mr...?" Germany started, realising he didn't actually know their waiter's name.

Acknowledging the fact that they wanted to know his name, the Englishman replied softly "Oh, it's Kirkland sir. Arthur Kirkland."

* * *

><p><strong>I've edited the first chapter. Gimme a chance to edit the rest.<strong>


	3. The blind Brit

Silence, as it seemed, was the best friend of room ten. The amount of pauses that had settled in it were astounding and competed with the awkward silences you had, whenever you caught your best friend snogging your romantic interest.

The waiter, apparently named "Arthur Kirkland", eventually spoke up, noticing that the others weren't about too.

"_What_?" he asked, wondering what he had said wrong.

The customers didn't reply. They were confused. How could this man be named Arthur Kirkland? Wasn't that England's human name? But it couldn't be England… Could it? How was that possible? No, it's probably another cruel coincidence, played by reality… Right? It wasn't the first time something like this had happened… But would it kill to have hope? Could they dare…

Was this person England or another nation-look-a-like?

"Sorry, we just had a friend who went by the same name..." China finally said. The waiter was silent.

"Are you blind?" Spain carefully asked, when the waiter made it clear that he wasn't about to talk any time soon.

"... Yes, of course I am. Otherwise I wouldn't be working here, would I?" the waiter replied, jokingly. Each nation let out a sigh of disappointment.

That settled it, right? Nations don't go blind. That had never happened before and would never happen in the future. This was just a _very_ unlikely coincidence and a _very_ cruel trick of nature or reality. Probably both.

"Now, if you'd like to pay...?" The waiter finally asked… also sounding disappointed. How strange. Maybe it was just their imagination. Yeah, that's it.

"Of course we'd like to pay dude! Off to the reception! Heroes first!" America replied with false cheeriness.

The waiter helped them to the doors, then went back to the table to clear things up.

They left without having ever seen the face of their waiter.

* * *

><p>Eleven-thirty something. The last customers had long finished their late dinner and left, now the few workers still there were busy cleaning up the restaurant and preparing it for the next day.<p>

Kiku and Feliciano had both already gone home, but Arthur had volunteered to help clean up. He was still helping out and was currently cleaning room ten.

"What was that?" Arthur asked alarmed, when his foot kicked an unknown object. He put down the serviettes and got to his knees, searching for the thing.

He had to feel for quite a while, guessing roughly where the object could have ended up. Eventually he found it. It turned out to be a phone.

"... One of the customers must have forgotten it," he muttered to himself, feeling the object for a while, so he could recognize it, if he ever held it again.

Sighing, Arthur pocketed the item, deciding to leave it in the lost-and-found box later, once he'd finished tidying up room ten.

* * *

><p><em>How<em> Arthur had managed to be the last one out, he didn't know. Apart from his boss, all other workers had long left. It was a little after one o'clock, which made Arthur wonder how he had ended up at his workplace so long. He usually left it at eleven, like everyone else.

He wrapped his scarf around his face, giving it and his neck protection from the cold. Why did he decide to stay in the north? It was freezing! Well, they do say Brits are crazy, he supposed.

He fixed his hat properly, as he turned around.

"Bye!" he called out, when he heard Mr. Connors leave the restaurant. The boss responded by saying good night, soon leaving Arthur to himself. He sighed and tapped along the road, making his way home. His thoughts almost automatically wandered to the incident at lunchtime.

Just _briefly_ he had hoped that he had bumped into someone who knew him.

That brief moment, he thought that someone could tell him more about himself. Who he was, where he'd lived… Heck, what he _liked._

But as soon as he mentioned he was blind, the small group lost interest.

And he thought he had finally met someone who knew him from _before_ whatever had happened to him had happened.

After all, Arthur Kirkland had been found in a dumpster with Lilli about a year ago, both battered and unconscious and, as it turned out when they woke up at the hospital, amnesic. They remembered their names (to an extent), but otherwise, nothing.

Sighing, Arthur walked down the streets, to the subway, not realising that he still had the phone he'd found in his pocket.

* * *

><p>At maybe two or four in the morning, America had a sudden realisation.<p>

Maybe it was possible that the Arthur Kirkland he'd met at lunch time _was_ England! Maybe the Brit was just amnesic (although, how _that _was possible…)!

America bit his lip, wishing that he'd_ seen_ the waiter. Then, maybe, it could _have_ been England!

But before he got too excited, he should check on how the actual country itself, not the (possibly no longer missing) personification, was faring.

Country's usually fell ill or got injured when something bad happened to or in their country, like how England fell ill once, because so many of his people caught the common cold or when America got injured from the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Sure, a nation had never gone _blind_ before, but anything's possible, right?

After all, no one thought it was _possible_ for the countries to all disappear within the same year without a trace… It wasn't like they could decide what was and wasn't possible any more…

He pulled out a laptop from underneath his bed, quickly turning it on and logging in. Once on the net, he immediately tapped on _any_ articles related to England.

The articles didn't please him.

The ones bearing bad news dated back to nearly fifty years ago, even further. Apparently, the British were faring better than _ever_ and were currently getting ready for a royal wedding.

Maybe a country could go blind if a majority of his or her people went blind?  
>Again, he looked it up, but nothing. England wasn't even on the top 100 countries-with-the-most-blind-people list!<p>

Well, that was annoying. Sighing, he lay back. At least he hadn't gotten his hopes up too much... Still, if he ever met that Arthur Kirkland again...

Well firstly, he swore he'd treat the waiter better (after all, the guy couldn't be so bad; he was American!) and secondly, he wanted to see what the man looked like... After all, he needed to be absolutely sure that the blind man was _definitely_ not England.

But only _if_ he ever saw that waiter again.

And he doubted that.

He wasn't planning on ever returning to the Blind Sense.

Ever.

* * *

><p>Arthur sat alone in the living room. He had headphones on and was happily listening to music, while also stitching… something. It wasn't easy to stitch while blind, but damn it all, he was going to give it a bloody good try.<p>

Someone tapped on his shoulder. He took off his headphones.

"Yes?" he asked, placing the unfinished work on the coffee table.

When the response was a triple tap, he sighed.

"What is it Lilli?" he asked.

The girl gently took Arthur's hands and pressed something into it.

"Oh... Oh! I completely forgot about that! Um... I found this phone about a week ago..." Arthur explained, recognising the phone instantly. "I must have forgotten to put it in the lost and found box... Goodness, when did I find this? Oh, I think perhaps a _week_..."

Lilli patted him comfortingly on the shoulder, as if to say _it's OK_, then tapped on the phone.

"Yeah, I should put it in the lost-and-found box..." Arthur agreed.

"I found it cleaning up room ten at the restaurant," he then explained, realising Lilli probably thought he'd found it on the street or something. "... It's strange that the owner hasn't been looking for it though..." Arthur added, thoughtfully.

As far as he knew, no one had come to Blind Sense looking for his or her phone…

"Maybe I should call him or her?" he said out loud, though it was clear he'd already made up his mind. He adjusted his sunglasses a bit, something he had a habit of doing when he was uncomfortable or nervous.

Lilli tapped him twice on the shoulder, a "yes".

"Can you check if he or she has their home number on their phone? If they do, could you call them? I mean, obviously give it back to me so I can talk to them, but you know..." Lilli tapped on his shoulder, twice again and took the phone out of his hands. After a short moment, she slid the phone back into his hands.

_So I'm calling the owner now..._

"Hello?" a man asked. Arthur paled, a frown tugging at his face. _Oh goodness, not that git... _he thought, recognising the voice near instantly.

"Um... Hi! This is Arthur Kirkland. I found your phone and thought you'd want to know-"

"Wait, seriously? You found my phone? Dude, I've been looking for that thing since for_ever_!" he said, sounding happy. Arthur chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, I was going to leave it in the Lost-and-found box, but I sort of forgot about it... Uh… Sorry about that," Arthur replied. Lilli held his other hand. Partially to help him remain calm, mostly because she was wondering what was going on.

"... Wait... Arthur Kirkland? As in, the waiter?" he asked, as if a terrible truth was dawning on him.

"... Yes... Kirkland as in the waiter. Do you want me to drop your phone off at the restaurant or…?"

"... Uh... Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks."

"OK... I'll drop it off as soon as I can."

"Thanks dude! See you there I guess!" the American then said, hanging up without really saying goodbye. Arthur froze for a moment at how suddenly the other had gone from horrified to happy, but then sighed and hung up too.

"Stupid..." he started, before reminding himself that Lilli was present. He continued muttering curses in his mind. He sat still for a moment, before getting up.

"Lilli, I'm going to go to the Blind Sense to drop this thing off. Do you think you'll be OK until I come back?" Lilli tapped twice on his shoulder. 'Yes'.

"OK, see you later then," he said. He walked out of the living room and started looking for his scarf, which he had (stupidly) left lying on the floor somewhere.

* * *

><p>"Oh! Hello Arthur! What are you doing here? I thought you don't have any shifts on Sundays?" the receptionist half-asked, half-greeted when she saw him enter the restaurant, shivering from the cold.<p>

In the corner, the American who'd been waiting for his phone looked up, not looking that impressed.

"It's fine. Came to drop off this," Arthur replied, taking out a phone from his pocket.

"Ah, would that be Mr Jones phone? You know, one of our first reservationists?" the woman asked. Arthur nodded.

"I'll just call him over. Mr Jones? Your phone's here."

Arthur frowned, muttering to himself "I could have gone over myself..."

The American walked up to them and stood next to Arthur. The Brit's mood instantly changed, as he wasn't that fond of Mr Jones.

"Here's your phone," Arthur said, handing it over.

"Thanks dude!" the other responded, taking the phone.

"It's no big deal... Especially since you should have gotten it back earlier…" Arthur muttered, before turning to leave.

"Ah! Going so soon?" the receptionist asked, before he left. Arthur looked over his shoulder (not that he could see anything) and bluntly said "Yes."

"Oh, ah well... Bye Arthur, it was nice seeing you!" the receptionist said happily, disappointed that Arthur was already making his leave.

"Hm? Yeah, bye," the Brit responded, opening the door and exiting.

He heard the door open again shortly after he closed it. Alfred was running after him.

"What?" Arthur asked frustrated, before the American reached his side.

"Could I invite you to a cup of coffee? Just as a way of saying thanks!... And also to kinda make up for treating you so badly the other day… And not leaving you a tip… That was totally unheroic of me! Which is kinda stupid, cause I'm the hero!"

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I'm kind of in a rush. I need to get back home—"

"Just a quick coffee. Honestly! Or I could buy you a cup of tea."

Why was he so eager to drink a coffee with him? Well, since he was so insistent, it wasn't like accepting a coffee was going to kill him. Besides, Maria had told him several times that one should _never_ turn down something that's for free.

Even if the person offering it was a little bit on the weird side…

"... Fine. I could use something to keep me warm..." he said, agreeing.

"Great! Let's go to McDonalds!"

Arthur stopped walking and turned in his vague direction.

"... No. Just _no_. If I'm drinking a coffee, I want it from a café, _not_ from some health hazarded shop they _dare_ to call a _restaurant_." Strange. Usually, Arthur didn't really mind McDonalds. Then again, coffee tasted better from an actual café and not from a fast-food restaurant.

Mr Jones was silent for a moment.

"Well, I guess a café's fine too. Oh yeah, I'm Alfred F. Jones by the way!"

"Good for you. If I remember correctly, there should be a café over there. Now hurry up and buy me a coffee."

* * *

><p>The two entered the café. It was warm and comfortable. Not many people were about, probably due to it being a very, very cold Sunday. America ordered for them and handed Arthur his coffee.<p>

"Soo..." America started. "Do you wanna drink inside or out?" he asked, praying the Englishman would pick inside.

"Well, since there don't seem to be too many people about..." the Brit said, fiddling with his coffee cup.

"... Inside. It's far too cold to do anything outside anyway."

_Yeesss! Please (don't) look like England, please (don't) look like England..._ America hoped, as he dragged the blind blonde to a free table. Arthur tried to yank himself free, while insisting he could have just as well found his own free table, but thankfully shut up once they reached a table.

"Here we go, a table for two!" America said, beaming. Arthur didn't respond, pretty much slamming his coffee on the table. The Brit probably thought that America had picked a table because he thought that the Englishman was 'handicapped' and therefore unable to pick his own one.

Oh, if Arthur knew that America was _always_ like this...

He took off his coat and hat. America couldn't help but feel himself actually _pale_ when he saw spiky blonde hair appear from underneath it.

He paled further, when Arthur decided it was too hot to wear a scarf and revealed his lower face shape. All that was missing for this to be England were those green eyes and black caterpillars...!

"So... What's it like being blind?" America asked, his mind having short-circuited for a moment. He was completely failing at keeping his hopes down. If the man opposite of him took off his glasses, then he'd know who Arthur Kirkland really was...

Arthur looked up, in Alfred's rough direction, with probably widened eyes of disbelief.

Finally the Englishman recovered from his shock and asked "You went to Blind Sense, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but you were born blind right? It's gotta be different from being able to see, and then _not_ being able to see!" America continued, with his usual cheery attitude.

"Well... I'm not sure about that... I guess… Well, I wouldn't really know."

"What do you mean?" America asked.

"... Well, if I have been blind since birth, I wouldn't know the difference between what people see and what _I_ can 'see', since I wouldn't have ever had any visual abilities. And if you could see, and _then_ went blind... Not everyone adapts to that, I think..." Arthur explained.

"Dude, you mean you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Whether or not you were born blind!"

"Well, the doctor's reckon I went blind, although no one can say for sure..."

America curiously leaned forward.

"Doctors?" he asked.

"Ah, that's none of your business anyway!" Arthur quickly waved off, laughing nervously. "I mean come on, we barely know each other!"

America shrugged it off, deciding not to question the Brit's awkwardness. To be fair, they _didn't _know each other… But Arthur's openness didn't surprise America. After all, local Americans had a habit of being open about everything and anything when talking to their country's personification. Very few ever became aware of it.

Curiously America leaned back, wondering whether he should ask Arthur to take off his sunglasses or just to take them off for him. After all, he didn't want to pester the guy for information if he wasn't certain he was England.

"Hey dude, you should get some new sunglasses! Your are totally dorky!" America said, before laughing. Arthur frowned, unaware that he was turning red. "Maria said they looked fine..." he muttered, touching them gently for reassurance.

"... Dude, you look _stupid_ in them!... I wonder if you look better or stupider without those on..." America wondered out loud.  
>"H-hey! They're not that bad!" Arthur quickly defended, not really sure on whether or not this was true. He didn't actually know what they <em>looked<em> like after all. "... Wait, did you just call me _stupid_?"

Without warning, America snatched the glasses off Arthur's face. Sometimes America was glad that he was often considered 'obnoxious and loud'. Because when he was actually _deliberately _being loud and obnoxious, no one noticed it.

He stared in shock at the now completely revealed face. He only had to see those stupid black caterpillars to know who it was.

"E-England..." America barely whispered.

His pupils were clouded, but it was no mistaking the greenness that surrounded them. Arthur stared blankly in America's direction, as if confused and likewise shocked.

He then quickly stood up, suddenly enough for the chair behind him to fall over and held out a hand.

"Give. Them. Back. _Now._" Arthur demanded.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2 - Edited. :)<strong>


	4. What happened one year ago

America couldn't help stare at the empty seat in front of him. After he gave _England_ his glasses back, the Brit had angrily stormed off.

America could barely acknowledge that he was alone in the café. He was too confused for that. He was absolutely, definitely sure and certain that Arthur Kirkland was England, but that conclusion just made everything more confusing.

How come England didn't remember him? Why was he blind? How come England thought he was human (and was using his human name for that matter)? How come America was unable to _sense_ him? Maybe England was human now?

America wasn't sure how to react. He had already asked himself such questions before meeting up with the Brit, but now that he knew Arthur Kirkland _was _England… It felt more _real. _More _bizar_re. More _puzzling._

... And he felt hope. _Hope._

Who knew this blessed thing could even still _exist?_

He was so very happy to have England back. So very...

But what had happened to him in the last century? Were any other nations back? Should he tell the others? Should he tell his government? Seriously, _why_ was England blind?

America continued staring at the empty chair in front of him. He wished he's stopped England from leaving, but England was long gone. Nothing could be changed now.

Shaking his head, as if humouring himself, America got up, finished his coffee and left too.

Despite the harsh cold of winter, he felt brilliant and warm.

If that guy was England (and America _knew_ that Arthur was England, no doubt about it, he just needed more _proof_), then there was _finally_ a chance of finding out what happened to the other nations and _where _they were.

And once they were finally all united again...

... Perhaps then he'll be able to smile again.

* * *

><p>"Idiot wanker..." Arthur muttered to himself, holding the rim of his sunglasses tightly, as if another moron would come along and randomly pull them off.<p>

Arthur hated not wearing his glasses. He didn't know why, but not wearing them… He felt vulnerable. Maria and Jack thought that was weird, but Kiku and what's-his-name (ah yes, Mattie) felt the same way about their glasses.

Also, Feliciano insisted on wearing a hat at all times and Lilli hated not wearing her scarf, which usually covered up half her face(or so he was told).

Arthur continued walking.

He'd soon be home and then he could forget that... That that _meeting_ had ever happened.

That... That _idiot_ had made him think about his unknown past… And it frustrated him. After a year of trying to figure out who he and Lilli were, Arthur had finally accepted that they would likely never know and, more importantly, that not knowing was fine.

They had a good life. They had supporting friends and a new family… The past was the past and they didn't need it.

_Lilli _didn't need to know the truth.

... He shouldn't need it either.

But just when he had thought he'd finally given up...

Enter _that_ bloody wanker.

A strong wind blew, and Arthur tugged his scarf over his face again.

Oh well... He was sure he'd forget about it all soon enough.

Then he could go back to his nice, pleasant life, without any weird men that tore your sunglasses off.

* * *

><p>America threw the front door open and shouted "I'm <em>Hooome!"<em>

There was no reply.

There never was one.

Tony had left about a decade ago, for unknown reasons. America suspected a civil war of some sort… But he had no proof and wouldn't ever know, unless Tony told him…

Assuming he ever saw Tony again.

America took off his coat and scarf. At least it wasn't too cold in the south of the good ol' USA. Still pretty cold though…

He walked over to the fridge, but frowned at its contents. He needed to go get some groceries, soon.

Aside from the odd pieces of food, there wasn't really anything substantial in there...

While Alfred desperately looked for something to eat, he sorted out his thoughts.

There were a few things he needed to do.

Firstly, he needed to convince Arthur Kirkland that he was the personification of England. Explaining _that _was going to be _so_ much fun.

America took out the only edible-looking thing in the fridge, a week(?) old pizza and put it in the microwave.

_… Secondly... Proof. I need more proof… _he thought, tapping his fingers against the counter, impatiently. He needed to meet Mr Kirkland again, soon.

The microwave beeped and America took its contents out.

He took a cautious bite from the pizza, before properly eating it. Still tasted good enough. He walked into his living room and threw himself on the couch. He sighed, deeply.

At least finding the Brit wouldn't be too difficult. It wasn't like there were that many English Arthur Kirklands around and with the president being more than happy to keep his nation from getting "moody" again...

* * *

><p>Arthur woke up.<p>

_What time is it?_ he thought, reaching out for the alarm clock. Feeling its hands, he found he had worked himself up over nothing. It was three-thirty. He could continue sleeping.

Arthur rolled back onto his bed and buried his face in his pillows. He'd had another dream and he couldn't remember anything about it, other than it being vivid and bizarre.

It was frustrating, because he felt they were important. But whenever he woke up, he quickly forgot what they were about.

Sighing, he settled down again, to go back to sleep.

It wasn't like the dreams had any particular meaning anyway...

* * *

><p>Arthur sat alone in the living room, listening to the TV.<p>

He had been sent home early from work. His co-workers noticed that he was finding it difficult to concentrate and kept messing things up. Mr. Connors decided that Arthur was too unfocused and _must _be ill. After a lot of arguing, they eventually convinced the Brit to go home.

But Arthur wasn't ill.

His dreams were bothering him. A lot more than usual. Unlike the usual rhythm of one bizarre dream per night, he'd had multiple dreams in one go, and they'd really messed him up.

Again, no memory of them, other than that they were incredibly strange.

Sighing, Arthur took a sip of his coffee. Really, he'd prefer tea, but they'd run out. Again. He would have to complain to Maria. She _continually_ forgot to buy tea.

Arthur lolled his head a little bit. He was bored.

Lilli was still at school and wouldn't be back for a while. Maria and Jack were working. And nothing was on TV or the Radio!

He grabbed a cushion and attempted to balance it on his head.

The doorbell rang.

Startled, the cushion fell to the floor and Arthur hurriedly felt for it, before throwing it in the hopeful direction of the sofa.

Who was that? Was it Lilli? Maybe he lost track of time and school had already finished? But didn't she usually have her key with her?

Arthur got up and felt the living room clock. No, it was nowhere near three o'clock. So it wasn't Lilli.

… So who was it?

Arthur grabbed his cane, in case of danger and slowly opened the front door.

"Arthur!" a happy, unmistakable American greeted him, pulling the shocked Brit into a hug.

Arthur was momentarily stunned and dropped his cane.

"What… What the bloody hell are _you_ doing here!?" Arthur demanded, finally recovering from the shock. "Get off me!" he then yelled, pushing Alfred away from him. The American laughed. It aggravated Arthur.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Say, this is a nice place you've got here," Alfred continued, walking past Arthur, into the hallway.

"H-hey! You can't just barge in uninvited!"

"But Arthur, I just did," Alfred replied, innocently. Arthur's fists clenched.

"Get out _now, _or I call the police. Government official or not, you have no righ-"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything. Just thought I'd, you know, drop by."

"God, what are you? Some kind of criminal? You can't just-"

"I already told you, I'm the hero. There are no criminal heroes, are there?"

Arthur frowned, increasingly angry and uncomfortable and just a little bit scared. A complete stranger had found out where he lived and had barged into his home. He was terrified.

Arthur quietly reached for his cane on the floor, but found that Alfred was standing on it.

"You wouldn't attack me... Would you? I really do mean you no harm," Alfred said. Arthur almost believed him.

"I… I was just getting my cane. I need it to see where I'm going, idiot," Arthur partially lied. Alfred got off the cane.

"Arthur, I swear to you, I really do mean you no harm. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Stop calling me Arthur! Just… Just stop calling me anything! What do you want!? Why are you in my home?"

"I wanted to talk to you!"

Arthur's frown deepened and he had to force himself not to hold his cane defensively.

"… Why?" he asked.

"Because… You remind me of someone I once knew… And it's possible that you're him."

Arthur was silent.

"You think you… You think I'm someone you knew?" Arthur asked.

"Yes. You have the same name and same face… I'm sorry I took your glasses off, but I needed to know," Alfred was choosing his words very carefully. This meet-up wasn't going well and he wanted to avoid it going from bad to worse.

"I…"

"Arth- Mr Kirkland, is there any chance… Is there any chance you might not be the man you think you are?" he asked.

Arthur was silent. Alfred remained quiet, waiting for a reaction, an answer. Arthur still said nothing. Alfred swallowed nervously and opened his mouth to speak.

The Brit closed the front door.

"We better sit down for this," he said.

* * *

><p>The two had settled down in the living room. Arthur had made Alfred a cup of coffee. The two hadn't spoken a word yet. Since being invited in, everything had been uncomfortably quiet.<p>

"So… You think I might be… The Arthur you once knew?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm actually pretty certain, but… Well."

"But if you think I'm… whoever this other Arthur Kirkland is… Why didn't you say anything last week?"

"The Arthur me and my friends knew, wasn't blind. At least, not when we last saw him. When we found out you were... We assumed you couldn't be... But... Well. I had a hunch."

Arthur was silent.

"So… I assume you suffer from amnesia?"

"Yes. I can't remember anything from before a year ago."

"A year ago?"

"Yes… Did I disappear a year ago-"

"No. You've been missing for much longer than that."

"I was a teenager when I disappeared?" Arthur asked, alarmed. Alfred bit his lip.

"… Yes," he lied. "Which brings me to my next question… How old are you?"

"I … Well, I think I'm twenty-three. Fairly certain… Which can get confusing, since I haven't celebrated a birthday yet… I could be twenty-four now… Still feel like I'm twenty-three though…"

"Well, you're the same age as my friend's."

"Alfred… Did you really know me?"

"I told you, I don't know. I'm pretty certain, but… I've been wrong before."

"… Well… "

"Do you still lie about your favourite type of tea being Earl Grey?"

"How did you know that?"

"I'm very certain that you're him."

Silence.

"… So… If you knew me and I knew you… Who were you, to me?"

"Me? I was a…" Alfred paused and looked away. "… We were friends. Of sorts. It was complicated. _Really _complicated. I mean, there were others that had it more difficult than us, but... Communication was a huge problem."

More silence.

"... Could you tell me what your earliest memories are? Please?"

Arthur frowned. His grip on his cup of coffee tightened. "Fine, I'll tell you. But I can't remember much..."

* * *

><p><em>My eyes flinched. There was a sudden, horrible light, all around me. I wanted to block it out, but I couldn't move. I didn't feel strong enough. I felt nothing. I was completely numb.<em>

_My head hurt and everything was spinning. I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. The light grew brighter, but I couldn't see._

_I didn't know what to do, I felt helpless and confused. I could start feeling pain as the numbness ebbed away and suddenly, the mist and confusion was lifted and everything was suddenly too clear and loud. I could smell. I could hear. It was too noisy. Too loud. And everything smelt terrible, it was such a nightmarish stench, it lingered in the air, in the clothes, in the hair... Everywhere. _

_I felt something land on me. It was heavy. It hurt. I tried to scream, but my throat was too dry and sore. I didn't react. I think I heard a younger, female voice groan in pain. Then I heard a gasp. Shortly after, I heard a loud clunk, as if something had been thrown open. Then I passed out again._

_When I next woke up, I was in a bed. My fingers twitched, but I couldn't move my arm. I wanted to see what was wrong with it, but I saw nothing._

_I was scared and confused. I remembered nothing and I slowly realised that this wasn't normal._

_I wanted to speak, call for help, but I still couldn't. I soon, involuntarily, drifted back to sleep._

_I drifted in and out of sleep several times, each time I woke up alone, at least, no one came up to me or talked to me. I grew more and more distressed...  
><em>

_Eventually, I woke up with someone else present. I was partially relieved to know I wasn't alone, but the confusion and fear remained._

_They didn't notice that I woke up. They continued talking. I listened in._

_"The police have come up with nothing. I'm afraid that we'll never know what happened to them until they wake up."_

_"Well, at least they're being looked after now…" a female voice muttered._

_"It's so expensive to keep them here though," another voice complained._

_"Yes, but if we don't pay, who will? They don't seem to have any connections with anyone. They're all on their own."_

"_I'm sure someone will eventually come for them," the first voice reassured._

_"But who? As far as we can tell, they're two nobodies that probably got mixed up in some bad business."_

_"… That _is _a possibility," the first voice agreed._

_I was confused by what they meant with "them", but remembered hearing someone groan when I couldn't, back when I woke up in that horrid place._

_"I'm sure that the two will be grateful for all the care you've been providing them with," he continued._

_"I suppose," said the other male voice. The woman gave a soft mumble of agreement. _

_"We should leave them now. They obviously aren't going to wake up any time soon and until then, we can't do anything," the first voice said. _

_I didn't want to be left alone again. So I attempted to speak. I coughed instead, but it was better than nothing._

_The three seemed surprised and I heard them come over._

_"Hello?" the first voice asked. "Are you awake? Can you speak? Are you in any pain?"_

_I didn't know what to say for a moment. I cleared my throat._

_"Water…" I managed to choke out. I heard some shuffling, before I felt the rim of a cup, held to my mouth. I drank some of it._

_"Thank you…" I said._

_"How do you feel?" the first voice asked._

_"I don't feel well…Where am I?" I asked._

_"You're in a hospital," the first voice replied "I'm Dr. Slodon, your doctor. You're safe here, nothing can happen to you. We've tended to your injuries, you should make a full recovery. Do you perhaps know why you had to be taken to a hospital?"_

_"I… I don't know. I was... hurt? Did I hurt myself?"  
><em>

_"You're hurt, but I'm afraid we don't know why. But don't worry, you're safe here."_

_He kept reassuring me that I was safe. I liked that. Because I really didn't feel it._

_"So... You don't remember how you got hurt?" he asked._

_"… No… I… I can't remember anything. Don't you know anything?"_

_"I'm afraid not. We were hoping you could tell us… What do you remember?"_

_"I… I remember briefly waking up in a… smelly place."_

_"Anything else? How about where you live? Your job? Perhaps your childhood? Anything?"_

_"… No… Nothing. I… I can't remember anything, but… waking up."_

_"Do you remember your name?" Dr Slodon asked._

_"No- No wait... I… I remember something..." I tried to sort my mind and remember something, anything, other than what I remember since waking up._

_"... Arthur Kirkland..." I said, but then felt a twinge. "No... That's not my name... Well, it is, but it doesn't feel like my real one..." I muttered, frowning._

_"Well, Arthur Kirkland is a good start. Perhaps he's a friend of yours," Doctor Slodon said, comfortingly. I managed to smile._

_"Tell me, do you recognise this girl?" he then asked._

_"I can't see anything," I said, quietly._

_"Really? Let me see." I felt someone gently grab my face and tilt it back. A light shone in my eyes and I tried to close my eyes, but couldn't. Dr Slodon let go of my face, muttering apologies._

_"I'm sorry for not having noticed this earlier. You're blind, Mr Kirkland. Do you know if…"_

_"No. I don't know if I was blind before."_

_"All right. Thank you, Mr Kirkland."_

* * *

><p><em>"<em>Then Lilli woke up, she turned out to be unable to speak, and after a lot of talks with the police and the hospital, we were both dismissed as new citizens of the US. Maria and Jack took us in... Jack at first insisted it was just until I could support myself and Lilli, but we became like a family, so even though I could support myself and Lilli... We've stayed. The place I woke up in was a dumpster, which is where Maria found us. She says we were everything short of being battered, bruised and broken. Apparently, I had been holding Lilli tightly, as if she were my only hope or something. It's been roughly a year since then."

America was silent.

It seemed England wasn't the only, possibly-no-longer missing nation.

But Arthur's story indicated furthermore that this was England, as Arthur had noted that _Arthur Kirkland _didn't feel like his "real" name.

But the mystery deepened. How had the two ended up beaten and broken in a dumpster? And how come Liechtenstein likewise had a disability?

_At least _some_ of my questions are answered... Even if they've created more._

_"_Alfred?" Arthur asked, noticing that America had fallen silent.

"Hm, what?"

_"_You... You were quiet."

"Sorry, I was just thinking about what you said. It makes sense… But it still doesn't tell me what happened to you." _Or the others._

"... So, can you tell me who I am? I'm not _really_ Arthur Kirkland, am I?"

"Huh, wha'? Oh yeah, your name isn't Arthur Kirkland." America replied offhandedly, still deep in thought.

_"_So what is it?" Arthur asked, increasingly curious.

"Hm?" America asked, still not focused on the matter at hand

"What is my name?" Arthur repeated again.

_"_Oh, right. It's England," America replied dismissively, his thoughts still revolving around the nation-nap mystery. There was a long silence, that America _failed_ to notice.

"What do you mean by that?" Arthur asked, lowly.

* * *

><p><strong>*A nation can sense when another personification is in their country. Of course, this kind of cancels out when everyone is in their country. They can't specify who is in their country either... So yeah.<strong>

**Chapter 3 - Edited.**


	5. Chapter 4

"... Ah." was all America could say, as Arthur turned a dark shade of red. He found himself cowering a little, as he eyed the shorter blonde.

"What do you mean _'It's England_'? Is this some kind of a joke?" Arthur hissed, as he shot off the sofa. Luckily the Englishman was blind, so he couldn't shoot America a death glare. Still, the aura he was giving off was just as deadly, if not more.

"Yeah, that was a _bit_ careless of me, let me explain-"  
>"Get out of my house <em>now<em>!" Arthur snapped. Some how, the blonde figured out where America was standing and without hesitation pulled the American to the door by the front of said persons shirt.

"Ah! Uh, Arthur, I think you're overreact-" America began, as he stumbled over his feet, being forced to bend over by Arthur. Arthur slammed the door open and threw America out.

"If you ever cross my path again, you'll regret the day you were born!" Arthur yelled, slamming the door shut and actually causing the whole _wall_ to tremble. The hinges creaked a bit at the mistreatment and America found himself on the ground in the snow, outside of his former Guardians and formerly missing friend's home.

"Maybe he _was_ right about me talking without thinking..." America finally said, after a few moments silence. He got up, brushing the snow off himself and walked up to the door, knocking gently on it.

"H-hey Arthur, let me in. I can explain!" America practically begged, as he leant against the door, listening for a response. Hearing nothing, America guessed that England probably needed to cool down a bit, before facing him again.

"... I-I'll come back later, OK?" There was a loud shattering sound from the otherside, Arthur obviously wanting the American to leave. Sighing resigned, America pushed himself off the door and slowly walked away from the house.

He turned around for a moment, to get another good look.

Hopefully, he'll be able to explain everything to England the next time he saw the nation.

* * *

><p>Arthur rubbed his forehead, feeling (for reasons beyond his knowledge) far too old for Alfred's nonsense. He had mircaulously found one last teabag sitting lonely in the corner of the cupboard and was now enjoying the cup of tea that last teabag had willingly made. It was quite a good cuppa.<p>

So, he may have overreacted when Alfred bluntly said his name was _supposedly_ England, but what did he mean by that? Sighing, he took another sip from the tea, as he pondered his options.

When Alfred suggested he come back later, Arthur had thrown the nearest object at the door. To his surprise, he hadn't just _thrown_ an object in the rough direction he wanted it to, he had actually _hit_ the target head on.

To his dismay though, it turned out to be Jack's favourite... Well, not favourite, but it turned out to be Jack's (expensive) ming vase that Arthur had - in his fit of rage - thrown against the door and shattered into a million pieces... How was he going to explain this to Jack?

Arthur wasn't known for having a short-temper (or so he firmly believed) and did _not_ want to admit he had destroyed something while he was angry.

The Englishman was slowly regretting having kicked Alfred out so soon. If he had just had a little more control over his nerves...

Another sip, he leant back into the sofa.

_England... _Arthur thought, as he let himself finally relax and drift in his mind. _That name does sound kinda right. Weird name, but... It sounds _right_ none the less._

Without really realising, Arthur nodded off, the cup of tea falling to the ground and smashing with a loud clink.

* * *

><p>Lilli waved goodbye to her friends, as she walked up to the porch.<p>

She smiled, watching the small group teasing each other and then eventually have a small snowball fight. She turned around on her heal and put the keys in the keyhole to unlock the door.

To her surprise, the door was already unlocked. _Strange... I'm pretty sure no one's home at this time..._

She gently opened it, peeking in. _Anyone?_ Lilli thought, not knowing what to expect. She looked at the floor, when she heard a light tingle of fine china being pushed aside.

Her large, depthless, green eyes* widened. Jack's ming vase was lying on the floor, totally destroyed.

Her first thought was _Jack's going to kill whoever destroyed that vase!_ The next was _Who did this? A burglar?  
><em>

She quietly grabbed an umbrella from the umbrella stand, holding it up like a baseball bat. She carefully walked around the ming vase's shards and listened. She could hear deep breaths coming from the living room (Arthur had taught her to use her other senses as well as that of sight).

Her breath hitched, when a horrid realisation dawned on her. She was not alone.

Quietly, she walked in, preparing to hit someone with the umbrella, letting out a breath of relief when she saw that it was just Arthur, who was lying on the couch, his head lolled back and sunglasses lying at the tip of his nose, making him look just a _bit_ silly.

Underneath his right hand lay another shattered object, with some nice tea stains accompanying it.

Wondering on whether or not there really_ was_ a burlgar around (after all, for all she knew, Arthur may not actually be the person to break the ming vase), she tapped on Arthur's shoulders. Persistantly.

Finally, the man flinched and woke up. "Wha-?" He asked, as his head jolted forwards. He adjusted his sunglasses. "Alfred?" The Brit asked expectantly. _Who's Alfred?_ Lilli wondered. She tapped three times on Arthur's shoulder.

"Oh, it's you." Arthur said, after she'd done this action, deflating a little. Lilli leant over the sofa and gave her 'brother'-thingy (he didn't seem like a brother, more like a part-time guardian) a hug, noting that he was sweaty. Great. Another dream.

"...I must have doozed off... Jack isn't back yet, is he?" Lilli tapped him once on the arm as a 'no'. She then paused, wondering how she was going to ask Arthur why the Ming Vase was destroyed and why he hadn't finished his tea.

Sighing at the only possible solution, she grabbed Arthur's wrist, tugging it softly. The blindman got up and followed her to the floor. There, she gently lead his hands to the smashed teacup, making sure that he didn't press his flesh too hard against the broken pieces.

"Oh... I didn't realise I was still... OK, Lilli, go to your room and do your homework, I'll clean up this mess." Lilli tapped twice on his shoulder, then left, walking back into the hallway to put the umbrella back.

Sighing, she wondered why Arthur was back so early. He must have known about the broken ming vase, since his first question was 'Is Jack back?'.

_He's acting so strange today... Maybe it's just another guy thing..._ Lilli pondered, as she walked up the stairs to her room.

* * *

><p>Much to Arthur's frustration, Alfred hadn't returned during the rest of the day. Kiku, Mattie and Feliciano had visited earlier, to see if he was OK. At Feli's insistence, Arthur let him cook food that evening (Maria and Jack didn't complain either) and, unsurprisingly, the Italian made pasta.<p>

Once the group left, Arthur went to his room, locking himself inside, not wanting to be disturbed.

The more he thought about the little Alfred had managed to get out before being kicked out, the more that little made sense.

England... He didn't just _think_ it was his name, it _was_ his name. No questions asked.

It sounded right. He _recognised _it _as_ his name.

Heck, he even knew what it was in _other languages_. (Igirisu*, Angleterre, Inglaterra, Yïngéllán, Inghilterra, etc.)

But who the heck is called _England_?

* * *

><p>Usually, Arthur slept peacefully and well for someone who slept lightly. Lilli, Maria and Jack weren't loud sleepers and they didn't have any pets to make noises during the night. The neighbourhood was good and quiet, with no idiots that think it's a good idea to walk down a street with a stereo turned up to ten, shouting and screaming at 3 in the morning.<p>

There were those odd nights, when he didn't sleep well, but that was usually because _something_ was on his mind. Today was one of those odd nights, although it had nothing to do with having something on his mind.

It was more like because there was this _insistant_ tapping noise at the window. It had started about a minute ago and gradually got louder. Arthur's eyebrows twitched, as he patiently waited and hoped that the noise would _stop_.

It, of course, only got louder. Letting out a low growl, Arthur threw his duvets off himself with the knowledge that he wouldn't get any sleep until the 'tapping' sound shut up. Pulling on a dressing gown, he walked over to the window and opened it.

"What's going on here?" He whispered out harshly, quiet enough not to wake anyone up, but loud enough to be heard.  
>"Dude, it's me! The hero!"<p>

Arthur paused, completely shocked. _What time is it?_ He asked himself, knowing that it was night.

He backed away from the window and felt his alarm clock. _Two-forty-three._ He walked back to the window. "What are you _doing_ here you dolt?" He whispered out, harshly again.

"'To see if you're ready to hear me out!" Alfred replied, obnoxiously loud.  
>"Keep your bloody voice down idiot!" Arthur hissed, worried he'd woken up a neighbour. "What made you think I'd want to let you explain yourself to me <em>in the middle of the night<em>?"

"Well, I don't want anyone to listen in on our conversation." The American explained, shrugging. Arthur groaned, smacking his forehead in (mental) pain.  
>"We could have just gone out somewhere git."<p>

"... Oh yeah, we coulda, couldn't we? Oh well, I'm here now!"  
>"Hell if I let <em>you<em> in while Lilli's home. Have a good night and _don't_ bother me at this ti-"

"Aw c'mon Artie! You can't leave me out here in the cold... The freezing, below zero cold..." Alfred whined. Arthur was about to simply lock the American out, but his conscience defeated his anger. He really _couldn't_ just turn his back on Alfred and let the poor American freeze. Especially not after he'd already done that in the afternoon.

"Fine. We're _not_ staying here to discuss it though. We're going to your place, where ever that is." Before Alfred could even utter a word of either disapproval or approval, Arthur was standing next to the taller American, his arms folded across his chest.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Let's _go._" Arthur whispered, as he drummed his fingers in impatience. "I assume you drove here?"  
>"Uh... Yeah..." Alfred responded, sounding a bit awestruck.<p>

"Well show me where you parked, you git. I want you to say whatever it is you have to say as _quickly_ as possible so I can go back to bed!" Alfred nodded meekly, before muttering "Follow me."

* * *

><p>"Why didn't you <em>tell<em> me I was still in my dressing gown, pyjamas and slippers?**" England asked frustrated. Alfred chuckled nervously, as he stopped the car in front of a red light.  
>"I... I thought you knew... Since, you know... You remembered your sunglasses."<p>

England didn't respond to that, pulling his dressing gown closer to himself. He didn't _really_ need to, since the car was warm inside, but he did it anyway.

"I feel ridicolous..." England muttered.

"Well, it's not like your going anywhere-"  
>"... You <em>had<em> to say that while we're _going_ somewhere."

"Dude, don't worry, you've done weirder things before."  
>"Oh really?"<p>

"Yeah."

England didn't respond to that, instead looking out the window.  
>The two fell into an awkward silence, America adjusting his glasses on his nose.<p>

"So... D'you wanna talk now? I mean, we might as well."

England sighed, as he reluctantly agreed. "First of all, what do you mean when you said my name was 'England_'._"  
>"Do you believe me?"<p>

"You can't answer a question with a question..." England replied tiredly, rubbing his temples. If he wasn't so tired..._  
><em>

"Yeah, but could you answer anyway?"  
>"... Fine... Yes. Yes, I do believe you. England <em>is<em> my name, I can just tell. Don't know why." England muttered.

"Good, because _my _name isn't Alfred. It's America. Well, technically it's the United States _of_ America, but it's too lengthy, so everyone calls me America." Sighing, England nodded. "Now, I know you_ probably_ don't believe me, but it's true.

You see... Um... Now, this is going to sound crazy, but you_ have_ to believe me. Each country has a representative. No, that's the wrong word... Each country has a personification that _represents_ it. No wait... That's wrong too... Well, you know those personifications? Well, our bosses think that they just represent the country... Well, the new ones think that, the old bosses knew... Um...

... They knew that we, the personifications, _are_ the countries we 'represent'... So we _are_ the actual countries, just in... Human form? Something like that... Do you follow me?"

America was _so_ relieved that England was tired. If the guy had been awake, he probably would have been kicked out again (well, probably not kicked out, since he was the driver...). England nodded, although he didn't look like he believed him.

America continued.  
>"Um... As you can probably guess, our names are the name of whatever country we are. So that's why I'm called America and you England... Oh yeah, my official name, as I mentioned before, is the United States of America. Your name is England, officially; but you also represent the UK, so your <em>other<em> official name is the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." Again, England gave a tired nod.

"... Anyway, we're getting off track. As I said, you're England. Now, roughly a century ago, nearly all the nations (so, us personifications, just so you know) disappeared for no obvious reasons. The people aware of our existance looked for clues _everywhere_, but found no traces.

You were one of the many nations to disappear, I was one of the few to... Not disappear. So, yeah, no one knows what happened. The 'surviving' nations call this whole case the nation-nap mystery... I... Uh... Admit to being the one that called it that first... How are you cooping with this information?" America asked, briefly casting a worried gaze to the quiet British nation.

"... To be honest, it's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard... But, if it's anything like my real name, it might actually start making sense... Eventually." England replied, this time followed by a tired yawn. America sighed, wondering if he should mention his inability to sense England. To even _explain_ the 'sensing' thing to England.

He turned to look at England, his mouth already opening to say something, but he noticed that the Brit had fallen asleep on him. America sighed and leaned back into his seat. _Well, at least England knows who he is now (sorta). I wonder if it's time to tell the others about him._

Again, America sighed (which he seemed to be doing quite a lot lately, maybe he's finally getting old) and pulled over onto the drive. He got out and carried the sleeping Brit into his home, letting the blind man sleep in a guest bedroom.

He went to his own room, already knowing what would happen in the morning.

* * *

><p><em>I feel horrible...<em> Arthur thought, as he slowly woke up. Hm... He was sure his room smelt of Ikea (and tea), rather than burgers... He rubbed his forehead tiredly. Again, as on so many mornings, his hair was covered in sweat.

_Maybe I should go to a therapist about this?_

He stretched. _Don't I have work today?_ Arthur wondered. _Yeah, I do..._ He reminded himself, remembering that it was Tuesday. _Wonder what time it is..._ He turned onto his side and reached out for his alarm clock, only to touch thin air.

_Where's my clock?_ He thought. Sighing, he decided it had to be sometime before the alarm went off, since it was quiet (and non-existent?). Tiredly, Arthur threw his legs off the bed and sat up. He rubbed his eyes, realising that he still slept well, aside from the stupid dream.

He got up and wandered to his bedroom door... Well, where his bedroom door _should_ be.

_What in the world...?_ Arthur thought, as he fuzzily started remembering things from earlier that day (at roughly three a.m.). As his brain made connections, he started slowly realising what was going on.  
>"DARN IT AMERICA!" England yelled as loud as he could.<p>

A floor underneath the _very_ angry Brit, America couldn't help but smirk, sort of looking forward to getting his head bitten off.

_Man, I've missed this._

* * *

><p><strong>*I dunno. They just always... Appear like that to me.<em>..<br>** _Yay for the Arthur Dent look. :3 Sorry, insider 'joke' the writer couldn't resist._  
><em>_* _That's right, right? I mean, others say Igirisu is Japanese for England... But I'm probably talking nonsense, so... 'm puzzled. Help? Correct or no correct?**

**This chapter just did _not_ want to be written. So, it's just a _bit_ shorter than the last, but hopefully enjoyable all the same. :3 **

**Anywho... Dunno when I'll update again. Tomorrow and Thursday I have school from eight to six, so the time I'll be spending at home will be spent doing homework, eating and sleeping. The next update will be on either Friday or Saturday...**

**...Unless you can coax me to update sooner?**

**Review please!  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 5

In a rather posh, classy street there was a modern and yet also old-fashioned mansion. Large. Spacious. Garden everywhere you looked.

It had a nice iron gate surrounding it, the garden was well tended to, with a sportscar parked on the driveway. A few birds flew by peacefully as the sun beamed down brightly. Any passerby would think that anyone who owned such a nice place must have a truly wonderful, relaxed and satisfied life. Someone who owned such a place had to be sensible, kind, patient...

However, if this person was a _nation_ they would be well aware that this owner was anything but sensible and patient and lead a life anything but relaxed and 'wonderful' in the sense from earlier.

And, if this nation had been _spying_ on the owner of the house, they would also be well aware that the grounds weren't as peaceful as they looked.

* * *

><p>"Bloody wanker, I have to go to work! What time is it? Where the <em>heck<em> am I?" An angry Brit yelled down the stairs. The cheerful American quickly ran up to him, a painfully bright smile on his face (if England could see at that point, he'd wish he couldn't).

"Hey Iggy! I was wondering when you'd wake up!" The American greeted in a singsong voice, already happy to call England by his nickname again.  
>"How the <em>heck<em> did you come up with 'Iggy'? Alfred, tell me what the damn _time_ is!"

"Oh, it's eleven. Ish."  
>"... What?" England asked in disbelief, his anger faltering. Really? That late? "... I slept through the morning shift?... Where am I?"<p>

"At my place. We were originally going to have the 'talk' here, but we had it on the way here instead and by the time we got here, you were already asleep. I woke up about half an hour ago at eleven-"

"I thought you said it's eleven right now!"  
>"I said it's eleven<em>ish<em>."

"Half past eleven is _NOT_ Elevenish!" England snapped, whacking America on the head using his white cane. America flinched, holding his head in pain.  
>"Ow! That hurt Iggy!"<p>

"You deserve it. And _stop calling me Iggy_." England replied, folding his arms. "Damn, I missed the morning shift and am missing the lunch shift..." He sighed and rubbed his temples, as he considered how his day was going. First, he had to go through what _America_ had told him at _three in the morning_.

Could he really resume normal life with that issue in mind? No, certainly not. He'd be acting worse than he was on Monday.  
>"Iggy?" America asked after a while, wondering why the Brit had fallen silent.<p>

"...Look, just bring lunch up to this room." He tapped on the bedroom he'd woken up (and gotten lost) in. "I'll be... familiarising myself with your home." America didn't immediately reply, staring at England curiously.

Was England _really_ asking _America_ to bring him _lunch_? Not really caring all that much, America put on his thousand-watt grin.

"OK, whatever you say Iggy!"

"S_top calling me Iggy!_" England snapped, as America dashed down the stairs laughing happily.

* * *

><p>Lilli's eyes were bigger than usual, as she looked helplessly at the receptionist. Arthur hadn't been home when she woke up (and his alarm clock had been left ringing).<p>

Jack and Maria assumed he'd just left early. Today she had a short school day, so she went to Arthur's workplace in search of her guardian.

_So Arthur isn't here?_ She wrote on a piece of paper. The receptionist shook her head. "I'm sorry Lilli, he hasn't come in all day. We did get a phone call from him earlier. He said he was ill and couldn't come to work."

_But he wasn't home when I left _or_ when I came back!_ Lilli wrote.  
>"... I'm sorry, I really don't know what to say. Are you sure he wasn't home? Maybe in bed?" Lilli frowned in reply. The receptionist didn't believe her. Why would the woman? Lilli was, after all, just a teenager that might enjoy playing pranks.<p>

She had guessed correctly that Arthur _didn't_ talk about his private life _at all_, which meant that no one had a clue who she was. It had taken her forever to prove that she was Arthur's (supposed) sister. And she was _not_ going to bother with getting the receptionist to believe that Arthur _was_ missing.

_Can I talk to Feliciano Vargas, Kiku Honda and Matthew Williams* please?_ She wrote. The receptionist took a look.

"Sure you can. They're finishing their shift just now." The receptionist replied. "Do you want me to show you where to go?"

_Yes_.

"Well, follow me." The two then exited the reception area, entering the long hallway, with rooms to either side. At the end was the kitchen, which blind or sight-impaired people were entering and exiting frequently.

The two entered the not-quite-so-busy kitchen, wandering over to a room labelled 'Staff room'. Once they entered, the receptionist told Lilli to wait in there, the three men probably getting changed into their casual attires.

Lilli nodded and sat down, fiddling with the rim of her dress. _Where are you Arthur? What are you doing?_ Lilli wondered nervously. She waited their five minutes, her thoughts circling around a certain blind blond (no, it's _not_ Mattie).

She perked up when she heard a familiar chattering in the distance. It was a deep debate on which foodtype was better. Pizza or Pancakes with Maple Syrup. Currenlty, the Maple Syrup was winning. She quickly ran over to the trio as they exited the room, waving at them frantically.

"Lilli! We weren't expecting you here!" Feliciano greeted, a smile on his face. She smiled back nervously, pulling out a notpad in which her previously asked question was written.

_Do you know where Arthur is? _Feliciano read it out loud, so that the two blind waiters could also hear what Lilli wanted to say._  
>"<em>He should be at home, right?" Mattie suggested, adjusting his sunglasses with mild worry.

Having guessed that this would be asked, Lilli just tapped underneath the question, where the answer to Mattie's question was written. Again, the cheery Italian read it out loud.  
><em>No, he hasn't been home all day. When I checked on him this morning, his bedroom was empty, the alarm was stil ringing and the window was open. His dressing gown and slippers were no where to be seen. I'm not sure about his pyjamas, I was in a rush.<em>

"... That is odd, Lilli-tan.**"  
>"Maybe you should wait until he comes back?" Mattie suggested. Lilli nodded slowly, fiddling with her dress, wondering if waiting was a good idea.<p>

"Aw... Don't look so sad!" Feliciano exlaimed, bending over to the short blond. "I'm sure he's fine."  
>"We could drop you back home...?" Mattie then suggested. Giving out a silent sigh, Lilli nodded, Feliciano informing his friends of the girl's decision.<p>

She let Arthur's friends take her home, as her mind continued to worry about Arthur.

* * *

><p>"It's still a lot to wrap my mind around..." England muttered, his arms, as usual, folded across his chest, a frown touching his face. The two were currently sitting in one of America's many cars* on the way back to <em>Arthur<em>'s home.

"Yeah, I guess it is." America replied. "But I had to wrap _my_ mind around the idea you don't act like a nation any more."

"... ... Would you like to repeat that last part please?" England asked slowly, refraining himself from saying another sharp "What?". He had asked that question _way_ too many times in the last few days. Time to stop being so predictable.

"Oh... Ahaha, I... Let that out too easily again, haven't I?" America asked nervously. England had been asking _plenty_ of questions about himself and other nations over the course of the day (well, afternoon would describe it better, since the Brit got up at eleven thirty) and usually, America let things that should go under 'touchy subject' out far to bluntly.

It had caused the blind nation to turn a permanant colour of red.

"Yes. Yes you did." England responded.  
>"Well... Usually, a nation can sense another nation. They can tell if another nation is in their country you see. If they're in a country that isn't their own, such as me being in... I dunno, <em>Germany<em> for example, then I'd be able to sense a nation from a certain distance. Now, it doesn't matter _what_ happens, this... communication, I suppose, _always_ works. Even when we're unconcious or close to death, other nations will be able to sense us."

"... Go on."  
>"With you, I couldn't sense you <em>at all<em>. That's why we should have realised sooner that you _couldn't_ be England, although you _are_ England, which leads us to wondering why I can't sense you, since this sense is kinda like a sixth sense, you know?"

"..."  
>"Well, I guess you don't know then."<p>

"This whole thing doesn't make sense. I mean, it obviously _does_, since I believe you, but... The nation-nap mystery _doesn't_. And I'm your only clue..." England moaned.  
>"Actually, Lilli's also a nation."<p>

"_What_?" England winced at the reusage of the word. He shook his head lightly and asked "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"Oh... I... Kinda forgot."  
>"... So? Which country is she?"<p>

"She's Liechtenstein."  
>"She's what?"<p>

"It's a little country between Austria and Switzerland?"  
>"... Yeah, I think I remember."<p>

"You don't have a clue, do you?"  
>"... No." America suddenly burst out laughing, swerving the car dangerously. Panicked, England grabbed the steering wheel, taking control of the car.<p>

"Careful git! I don't know about you, but I _still_ think a car crash would be pretty damn painful!" Finally, America calmed down from his laughter and continued driving, a smirk placed on his face. He pulled off the mainstreet into the street Arthur lived in.

"Sorry dude, but you used to bite my head off for not knowing another country. The idea that you yourself don't even know... It's ironic!" He grinned at England, who just scowled in reply, then looked away, out the window.

A silence started nestling itself in the car, America pulling over to the side of the road once seeing England's current home. The two sat there momentairily, as if time had stopped, before England finally found something to say.

"... So..."  
>"Hm?"<p>

"... When are you going to introduce me to the others?"  
>"What?" America asked in surprise. "But we don't have enough proof! If I just turn up and say 'Hey, this guy's actually England', they won't believe me. You <em>know<em> how nations heal (I explained it in the afternoon, remember?) and that we're able to sense one another!"

"America, if we continue this way, we'll _never_ have any proof. I don't remember _anything_, I don't even feel my bloody country!*** You already said it yourself, I _don't_ act like a nation should!"  
>"... Fine. I'll try and round them up to meet you." America finally said, deciding that England had a point.<p>

"Good. Just come round if you need me." England announced, opening the door to exit the car.  
>"Wait, England?"<p>

"Yeah?"  
>"... Can you also explain the situation to Liechten- I mean Lilli?"<p>

"_What_? Why do I have to?" England tried to demand. Sadly, his voice came out as more of a whine.  
>"You're her guardian. She's more likely to believe you, right? Oh, and don't tell this to Maria and Jack. In general, humans aren't supposed to know about us. That's why we have fake names."<p>

"... Fine." England responded disgruntled. He exited the car, giving a goodbye, as he walked up the path to the porch. To his surprise though, he never made it to the front door. Instead, a large object threw itself at him, making both him and the object lose balance and topple over into the deep snow surrounding them.

There were three taps. Lilli.

"... Oh... Oh, hey Lilli?" England asked nervously. He felt a hard slap on his arm, as Lilli stopped hugging the older man and sat up.  
>"What did I do?" He asked, his hand brushing through his snow-covered hair.<p>

"Arthur!" Who? Oh yes, it was Mattie. "Where have you been?" A Canadian voice demanded, coming closer with a constant tapping sound.  
>"I... Uh..." Was all he brought out. He then pointed behind himself. "Is there a car still behind me?"<p>

"Feli saw you get out of one. Once you were out, the driver took off." Kiku explained, also tapping over to Arthur.  
>"Seriously, where <em>were<em> you?"

"I... Was with a friend?"  
>"Ve~ Arthur! Lilli was so worried about you! You're room was empty and everything! She thought you'd been kidnapped!" A cheery, yet worried, Italian said, hugging the blind blond.<p>

"... Sorry, I was in a rush... I was going to leave a note..." Arthur explained to Lilli, who silently huffed.  
>"And what's with calling in ill?" Mattie asked, folding his arms. "I mean, you obviously aren't. What have you been up to today?"<p>

"... I..." _In general, humans aren't supposed to know about us. _Arthur bit his lip softly, trying to come up with an excuse. He couldn't really say he spent his whole day with a friend... Well he could, but not without being asked questions, to which he'd have to make up _more lies._

"... I Need tea." Arthur finally finished lamely.

"Arthur-san obviously doesn't want to tell us about his day." Kiku whispered to Mattie, Feliciano and Lilli. England could hear them, but pretended he didn't as he finally got out of the snow.

"Ve~ Did you go shopping?" Feliciano asked curiously, now looking at Arthur properly. The Brit was wearing different clothing. A pair of jeans and a shirt, both of which were far too big for him. Also, he hand a bundle of clothing tucked into one of his arms, that suspiciouly looked like the missing pyjamas, slippers and dressing gown.

It was now also more noticeable that the man was shivering in the cold, much like they were. Obviously they'd forgotten about how _cold_ it was outside during the excitement.

"I'll go indoors and make tea and pasta." Feliciano announced, trying to subtily get his friends in doors before they caught a cold. The blindmen nodded, as they started to make their way over to the house. Lilli tailed behind Arthur, a scowl on her face.

She did _not_ like people keeping secrets from her.

Especially not Arthur.

* * *

><p>After the other blindmen left, assured that Arthur was home, from wherever he'd been, safely, Lilli made her way to his room.<p>

He had, yet again, hid himself in his room, much like he did on Monday evening. She knew that he usually did this when he needed to think, but she _knew_ he was up to something and it was something _big_.

Without knocking, she entered.  
>"Huh? Who's there? Maria? Jack?" Three taps. "Oh, good. I... need to talk to you Lilli." Arthur announced, putting his book down. Lilli straigtened, when the blond added "... I need to talk to you about what I've been doing and found out in the last few days. Close the door."<p>

Obediently, Lilli closed the door, then sat down on his bed. He turned to her from his chair- he was sitting in one- his hands clasped together, as if they were about to have a serious discussion, _which they were_.

The older blond gave out a deep sigh, brushing through his hair again.  
>"You remember last week, when I came home annoyed about an American customer we had?"<p>

Two taps.  
>"Yes, well, when I dropped off his phone, which by the way belonged to him, we had coffee. It turns out he knows who we are, before we both came around in hospital. The guy's from our past Lilli."<p>

Lilli sat silently (well, she always does for obvious reasons, but that's besides the point!) Arthur continued after another deep sigh.

"He told me what my real name is... You see, I never told you, but... Arthur Kirkland... It just doesn't _feel_ right. It's like, I _know_ it's my name, but... It's also not my real one. Kinda like a nickname I guess... It's complicated... Anyway, as I was saying, he told me what my real name was, to which I... Overreacted. I kicked him out in hopes he wouldn't come back..."

Another pause, which let Lilli comtemplate what her guardian was saying.

"He then came round earlier today and we talked things over. So, I now know who we are... Listen Lilli, this is going to sound crazy, but it'll make sense, I _promise._"

"..."  
>"I'm England and you're Liechtenstein."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>*Those <em>are<em> all the correct human names for Japan, Canada and N. Italy, right? I could check myself, but I'm just a _tad_ too lazy. :S**  
><strong>** I read somewhere that the Japanese suffix for children is -tan (you know, since the suffix for adults is -san). 'm not sure, so if it's wrong, just tip me off on it.<strong>  
><strong>*I dunno, I'm pretty sure that Countries should have more than one car. It make sense to me.<strong>  
><strong>*** Countries have a connection to their landmass and people, that's how they can fall ill if a majority of their population is suffering from... I dunno, the Black Death?<strong>

**I know, I know, this chapter isn't as good as the previous chapters, but it _didn't want to be written!_ So sorry. :S**

**Well, one more of the (known) missing nation is now aware that she's a nation, sorta. Next chapter will be on Tueday at the latest.  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 6

**"**_Beep... Beep... Beep..._ _Hello?_"  
>"Hi Peru! Guess which North American it is!"<p>

_"Drop dead America."_  
>"Huh?... No, Peru, wait!..."<br>"_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep..._"  
>"Try again..." America said to himself, redialling the number.<p>

_"Beep... Beep... Beep... Hello?_"  
>"Peru! Will you just- Hello? Hello? ... Maybe I should try another country..."<p>

"_Beep... Beep... Hello?_"  
>"Hiya Brazil! Guess which- Oh <em>come on<em>! The least you coulda done is at least _said_ something before hanging up..." America muttered, hanging up too. OK, so none of the South Americas or Africas would listen to him.

Well, maybe someone in Oceania?

"_Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... G'day?_"  
>"New Zealand! How's my favourite-"<p>

"_America, I don't have time for your stupidities. G'day._"

"Oh _come on_..." America moaned frustrated. Were his personal relationships with other countries _that_ bad?

Yes. Yes they were.*

"Maybe China..."  
>"Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... <em>Hello aru?<em>"

"China! It's me, America!"  
>"<em>... America, I don't have time right-"<em>

"Wait! Don't hang up! It's not stupid! I swear, I'm not going to say anything stupid!"

"_... Go on._"

" I... Was wondering if you could come round to my place? As soon as possible."

_"Why, aru?_"  
>"Well... It's like this... I... I have a lead-"<p>

"_America, I thought you gave up a long time ago, with the rest of us aru."  
>"<em>But this time it's a solid lead! I mean, it doesn't get more solid than this!-"

_"America, if I'm honest, I'm old and tired. I no longer want to find the other nations. They're gone America, you have to accept that fact, aru._"

"But China-!"  
>"<em>I no longer want to be lead on a wild goose chase, aru. Face it, how many times did we think we had a trail which <em>never failed_ to turn out to be a red herring? Hm? Let go of the past, aru. They're gone and there's _nothing_ we can do about it aru."_

"But..."

"_Don't try and stir up false hope again America. Goodbye, aru._"

"Wait, China!- Darn, he hung up. Great, won't _any_ country listen to me? ... I haven't tried the Europeans yet."

He dialled the number on his phone quickly, waiting for a certain blonde to pick up.

"_Hello?_"  
>"Germany!"<p>

"_Amerika? Why are you calling?_"  
>"I wanted to know if you could come round to my place asap!"<p>

"_... Why?_"

"Do I need a reason?" America responded, whining playfully.  
>"<em>Ja." <em>America's face fell. _  
><em>

"Why?" He demanded irritated.

_"In the last few decades, you never bothered to make a phone call to any of us and usually avoided us. Now you're trying to be friendly and social? Ich meine, the Blind Sense thing, that's understandable, but I mean actual _proper_ 'hanging out'?_"

"Fine, I admit it. I have new information on the Nation-nap-"  
>"<em>Meine Güte Amerika! You still haven't moved on?<em>"

"Germany! _No one has_! We're still mourning our loss, everyone _but_ me, because I have a freakingly obvious _lead_!"  
>"<em>That's what you said last time, remember? It looked so <em>right_, we thought we'd finally found them. But it was just another deadend._"

"But this time it's different!"  
>"<em>Nein. Amerika, you have entered your denial phase again. I suggest you go to a therapist. Aufwiedersehen.<em>"

"Just hear me ou- Does every country have a vendetta against me or something?" He wondered out loud. Which other European nation was around? Spain, South Italy, Ireland...

_"Beep...Beep...Beep... Hello?_"  
>"Spain!"<p>

_"America! This is a pleasant surprise, si?_"  
>"It's great to hear you too Spain." America replied, glad to finally receive a warm welcome from another nation. "How have you been doing?"<p>

_"Si, I've been doing well. The tomatoes I'm growing are delicious for something growing out of season!_"  
>"That's cool. Hey, do you want to hangout?"<p>

_"... What's the catch?_"  
>"<em>Catch<em>? Why does everyone assume I want something from them if I call?"

_"Well, you haven't been making phone calls to- Wait a second. Romano, stop cursing like that, it isn't cute... Aw, now you're so angry, you've turned redder than a tomato, so cu~ute! OK, I'll stop 'annoying' you if you stop being so loud. Yes, I'm talking to America. Aw, you're so easy to upset! Yes, yes, I'll stop... But it's so difficult, you look so cu~ute_-"

_"_Ahem." America cleared his throat, realising how easily he'd been forgotten by the Spaniard.  
>"<em>Oh, sorry America! I forgot I was still talking to you!"<em> He said happily.

"Yeah, so anyway... Can you come over?"  
>"<em>Seriously, what do you want?<em>" Spain asked, although he still sounded cheerful.

_"_... It's a surprise. Now, could you gather some other countries to come here? I tried, but they refused. _Don't_ tell them they're going to my place, otherwise they won't go-"

_"... Si, it sounds like fun anyway! I'll try be over before weekend starts! Adios Amigo!_"  
>"Bye-... Spain... Well, that's one thing off the list... I just wish I knew when he was coming over..." America sighed in relief. He had spent a majority of his morning making phone calls.<p>

He was sure glad the Spain was such a cheery nation, otherwise he'd be stuck. Sighing, he went through his list. Four countries from South America. Three from Africa. Four from the Middle-East*. One from Asia. One from Australia. Four from Europe. Oh, and himself, not to forget.

The Seventeen countries left, indeed. He still had to call Ireland. He could assume that Spain would bring Romano with him. He stretched, then startled to dial Ireland's line.

After this, he'd need a burger and possibly a coffee. Then he'd call England and see if the guy wanted to meet up to discuss things with him. Oh, and also see how he's been doing with Liechtenstein.

* * *

><p><em>If only I could talk to someone about this!<em> Lilli thought in her head. Currently she was sitting in the cafeteria, having lunch. Her friends were eating and chatting, full of excitement for the upcoming winter prom.

She, however, couldn't share their excitement. What Arthur told her last night still hung in her head.  
><em>"Lilli, you're a nation. You're name isn't Lilli, it's Liechtenstein. Please, you <em>have _to believe me._" Sighing, she took another bite from her home-made sandwich.

Her friends were luckily too consumed with themselves to notice her deep trouble. She didn't feel she could share what Arthur had told her to anyone. If she did, then they'd probably lock him up in an Asylum or something.

She couldn't afford that. _Liechtenstein_... She had promised to think things over to Arthur. And she was still processing it. It really sounded crazy, but it would explain several things. She sighed, deciding that she couldn't eat any more.

She was about to get up to throw it away, when she suddenly froze.

_"Liechtenstein, finish your food. It's a waste to leave it half-eaten." A firm voice said, with care, gentleness and worry underlining his words._  
><em>"But Bruder, I'm not hungry any more. I can't eat it." Lilli replied nervously, yet secure. The man with shaggy blond hair sighed.<br>_

"... _Fine, put it in the fridge for later instead. You can have it for Z'vieri** or something..._" _He muttered, his piercing green eyes looking over to her depthless, yet large and beautiful ones._  
>"<em>I'm sorry Bruder." She said meekly, breaking eye contact to look at her food. He sighed, although what he said next made her smile. It wasn't what he said, it was how he said it. So caring, so loving.<br>_

"_It's fine. Just don't make so much food for yourself if you can't finish it._"

She cringed, holding her forehead, feeling like she had just had a brainfreeze.

"Lilli? Are you OK?" One of her friends asked her. She looked up, feeling pale. She nodded meekly, althought she was starting to feel horrible. _What in the world was_ _that_?

The feeling of lightheadedness and sickness started taking over her body, as she blinked rapidly to stop the world from spinning.

Suddenly, the answer to her question floated past her mind unannounced.

_That was Switzerland... My big brother..._

Suddenly, Lilli got up and dashed out of the lunch hall. She wasn't sure why, but... She had an _urge_ to runaway. To runaway as fast as she could, as if the devil himself were on her heels.

_No... No... This can't be happening... _She thoughts as other memories slowly started coming into focus in her mind.

_I... I don't want to remember! I... I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!_ She screamed in her mind suddenly, as if she'd always known she was Liechtenstein.

The door to her memories, that had been locked... A key had been put in and was now turning slowly, as several memories of happier times leaked in.

_I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER! _She screamed out louder, her voice whispering the same thing out horsely.

And then, the whole world changed into that of a porch she'd never been to before..._  
><em>

* * *

><p>America frowned at his empty desk. He used to complain about the work he'd be given on a daily basis, it always covering nearly all of his office in the form of stacks and stacks of paperwork.<p>

However, when his bosses took over _all_ his work... Well, he barely had anything to do. Now and then he'd receive _some_ paper work to do, but for the most part, normal, boring _work_ no longer existed to the poor American.

He didn't even know _why_ he bothered entering his office that morning. He was just glad he didn't go to the one in the White House. Then he'd be even more bored.

Turning on his chair, he considered calling the nations again. Those that ignored him. Was there any point? They never talked, why would they start again now?

He leant back, letting the chair balance itself on it's hind legs, as he looked at the ceiling fan. So bored... Maybe he should call England now?

"**Ding dong**!"  
>"Wha-aahouch!" America yelled and yelped, as he lost his balance on the chair and fell over and crashed onto the floor. The ringing sound continued. It was the doorbell.<p>

America quickly picked himself up off the ground, trying to more or less walk to the front door and open it. Who could it be? Spain? That would have been a miracl-

"Liechtenstein?" He asked surprised when he saw a shaggy blonde that looked mistakebly similar to Switzerland and yet completely different.

The girl had tears in her eyes, her hands were cuddling a half-eaten sandwich close to her chest as if it were the most precious thing on the planet. She was panting and looked dizzy and exhausted.

Without warning, the girl suddenly collapsed into America's arms, surprising him greatly. _How in the world did you find me?_ He asked worried. Not sure on what to do or how to react (or think clearly), America picked her up and brought her to the guest bedroom.

He laid her down on the bed gently and pulled out a chair, taking out a phone, as he decided to wait for her to wake up.

He dialled a number that he already knew inside out (some how he found it really, really easy to remember phone numbers), sitting down on the chair.

"_... Blind Sense, how may I help you?_" The usual receptionist answered, her voice surrounded by false cheeriness.  
>"This is Alfred F. Jones. I'd like to talk to Arthur Kirkland please."<p>

"_I'm sorry Mr. Jones, but private chats aren't meant to be done on our service line. If you would please hangup so that other customers can reach us..."_

"No. I need to talk to Arthur Kirkland _now_. This is a family matter."  
>" <em>I'm sorry, but the last time I checked, Mr. Kirkland didn't have a brot- Oohoh!<em>" The woman stopped speaking directly into the phone. _"Arthur! Don't you have a table- I, wait, you can't-" _There was some shuffling and a loud crash on the other side of the phone. What was going on?_  
><em>

"_Alfred?_"  
>"Iggy!"<p>

"_What is it? When I said you could call me whenever-_"  
>"Are you aware Lilli's skipping school?"<p>

_"She's _WHAT_?"_

"Yeah, I dunno much. See, I heard my doorbell, opened my door and there she was! I think it'd be best if you came over-"  
>"<em>Is she there? Can I talk to her?<em>"

"Well... You see, she kinda fell unconcious-"  
>"<em>She did what? Is she OK?"<em> England asked worried.

"She's fine, I think. She was crying when she came here, how the heck she knew where I lived I don't know-"  
>"<em>I'm coming over right away- Beatrice, keep yourself out of this. I couldn't care less about my damn job right now-"<em>

"Iggy, you don't know where I live."  
>"<em>... I'll find out!"<em>

"No, I'll send someone over to pick you up, OK? He or She will be over in a couple minutes. She or He will adress you by England Kirkland, so you'll know he's or she's come to pick you up."

"_... Fine... But make sure this person hurries up! This is my Charge we're talking about!_"  
>"Yeah, yeah. I'll hang up now."<br>"_H-hey, wait, I'm not finished-_"

"Bye Iggy!" America then hung up, quickly dialling another number. "Hello, this is America speaking! I need someone to pick up an England Kirkland, looks just like England..."

* * *

><p>"Arthur is about to ditch work!" Mattie whispered to Kiku and Feliciano, after he entered the kitchens.<br>"What? Mattie-san, were you eavesdropping? Do you know how disrespectful, rude and dishonourable that is?" Kiku asked, sounding shocked.

"Shush! Not so loud, someone might here us! Look, Kiku, since Sunday, he's been acting weird and he refuses to explain himself. And now he's ditching work?"  
>"Ve, Mattie has a point Kiku." Feliciano agreed.<p>

"... I admit that Arthur-san has been acting 'weird' as you say, but it doesn't give you the right to eavesdrop." Kiku responded. Mattie shrugged in reply.

"'M sorry, but I'm worried about him."  
>"Maybe we should follow him and see what he's up to." Feliciano suggested.<p>

"Great idea!" Mattie said. "He's going to be picked up by someone soon with a car-"  
>"Mattie-san! Are you suggesting we <em>spy<em> on Arthur-san? That'd be misusing his trust!"

"But Kiku, he obviously doesn't trust us already if he refuses to talk to us at all." Feli pointed out, sadness constricting his words. The Italian hated having problems or fights with friends. He hated it more than British food.

"... I refuse in participating in such dishonourable and disrespectful behaviour." Kiku announced.

* * *

><p>"I hate you. I hate you <em>so much<em>." Kiku muttered out uncharacteristically, as Feliciano followed the limousine that had picked Arthur up quietly.

"We didn't do anything. As soon as we snuck out of the restaurant, you followed behind." Kiku didn't respond, still frustrated. He couldn't be bothered to hide his annoyance.

Usually he only got angry over matters of food (Seriously, three dollars for ten eggs?*), but dishonourable acts made him nearly as furious. Only nearly.

"I'm just here to make sure you two don't do anything stupid." Kiku muttered again. He sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I am sorry that I said I hate you Mattie-san and Feliciano-san." He said, having recomposed himself a bit. "But I still don't agree with your actions."  
>"Look, it'll be fine. We're just looking out for Arthur like we always do, that's what friends are for." Mattie responded calmly, patting the man on the back softly.<p>

The man didn't respond.  
>"Ve~ This is a nice place." Feliciano suddenly announced, parking the car. The two blind men didn't respond, unable to see the sight.<p>

They all sat there, as they waited for a good moment to sneak onto the grounds.

* * *

><p><strong><em>*<em> alexdemyx pointed out that America's relationships with South America and the Oceanic Countries were actually quite good, much to my surprise (I was like totally le gasp). So I'll explain why they're on rough terms... After also noting, that for a long time, I thought the Oceanic Continent is called the Australian Continent (I know, I'm a real thickie, right?). So sorry if you thought that Australia was still around. He is gone, gone, gone forevah~ Maybeh. Anyway, explanation on rough terms: See chapter 11.  
><strong>

**_*_Middle-East always kinda seemed like it's own continent. I mean, there's Europe, there's Asia, but countries in the Middle-East are so much more different from European and Asian cultures (if I remember correctly. I could also be completely off and uttering out rubbish, but yeah... Remember folks, always get your facts straight! (Also, I should practice what I preach))**  
><strong>** Ha, ha,ha... Um... Z'vieri is Swiss German for "For four" or better said "<em>At<em> four". This is when the Swiss have their afternoon snack, although they also eat it at three. This Swiss 'tradition' is taken about as seriously as English Tea time (which I think is also at four... Not sure)._  
>* <em>I dunno. Made up something, you know? I don't know how ridicolous the price is, but still.**

**Yeah, I'll (disclaim) explain what Lilli did in the next chappie. I probably surprised you all by updating so soon, huh? Well, I loved the reviews so much and noted also how short the last chapter was compared with previous updates, I decided to do a double update! Go me!**

**A lot of this chapter is just people phoning people and rushing around. Originally, the nations were all going to agree to come to America's, but I don't really know the characters from Africa, South America or Australia and, well... Countries have a habit of being unpredictable, hahaha...**

**ha...**

**ha... **

**Ahem... So currently, I'm avoiding using OC Nations, since I'd mess them up.**

**A lot of things are now open and the mystery deepens (in my mind it does anyway). Still, the latest I'll update will be on a Tuesday.**

**Review?**_  
><em>


	8. Chapter 7

"You're right, she seems fine..." England muttered, pressing his hand against Lilli's forehead. No temperature, she didn't feel cold or sweaty. She really _was_ just asleep. Strange. He was pretty sure she had slept fine previously.

He propped the girl up, removing her school jacket, loosening the tie and also removing the socks and shoes, which America had kindly enough _forgotten_ to take off. Once finished, he laid her back down, so that she could continue sleeping peacefully, leaving the articles of clothing on the chair America had been sitting on.

"... Are you sure you haven't left anything out?" He asked, walking over to America. He shook his head.  
>"No. I can't think of how she... Wait a second..." America paused in midsentence, much to England's frustration. What was that idiot thinking?<p>

"... It's possible she nation-hopped.*" America then announced. England didn't respond, if he had been able to see, he would have given the American a mix of a blank face and scowl.

"... Um, nation-hopping's what all countries can do." America started to explain. "Basically, we can go to any country we want to within seconds if we imagine being there. It can use a lot of energy depending on where you hop, like from China to Mexico. It also takes up a lot of energy if you hop to an exact location, so we usually also use public transports if there's no emergency. We can also randomly nation-hop, where we don't have a clue where we're going. It uses a lot less energy, but is dangerous, because you could hop to a place where a vulcano is about to explode."

"Errupt. The correct word is errupt."  
>"Yeah, that too."<p>

"So, I should be able to nation-hop?"  
>"Yeah, you've just got to imagine a place you'd really like to be in!"<p>

"... And you didn't tell me this_ yesterday_, when I could have _really needed _nation-hopping?"

"... Yeah, I guess I didn't. " America responded sheepishly.  
>"I give up. There is <em>no<em> point in getting frustrated with you and your stupidity. Absolutely _no point_." England announced, exiting the room.

"H-hey, wait England! I haven't finished explaining to you what nation-hopping is!" America shouted, exiting also.

* * *

><p>"Sh... Feli, be quiet. We're spying right now!" Mattie whispered to the Italian, who instantly fell silent. Amazingly Feliciano actually listened to them and didn't utter a word. He must be worried about Arthur too.<p>

"Now, what can you see?"  
>"It's a... kitchen. No one's in it- Ve~ I can see pasta on the table!- Oh no, quick, duck!" Feliciano quickly announced, pulling the Canadian and Japanese man down under the window.<p>

"What? What? What did you see?" Mattie asked curiously.  
>"Ve, I saw Arthur and someone else enter the kitchen. Arthur looks very annoyed." Feli summarised, daring to take a peek again, something he'd usually be too afraid to do.<p>

"Well?" Mattie continued asking.  
>"The guy he entered with is... Trying to explain something, I think. Arthur's sitting down on the kitchen chair... I think he's listening him out."<p>

"Why would Arthur-san 'ditch work' as you say, to spend time with another friend?" Kiku wondered, for the first time ever wishing he could see.

"Hm... I wonder if you can open the window..." Feliciano mused, pressing the glass gently with his fingers.

"No, I don't think you can open it-"  
>"Ve~ It was already open!" He said cheerfully. The trio fell silent, finally able to hear them speak.<p>

* * *

><p>"...You said it uses little energy to nation-hop to locations close by or within your own country... We live near by, so Lilli- I mean, <em>Liechtenstein<em> should have been fine hopping here. Why'd she collapse?"  
>"I dunno. It's weird." America replied.<p>

England took a deep sigh.  
>"We're getting no where."<br>"Hm?"

"I _said_ we're getting no where. If anything, I'm just getting more confused the more we try to figure out the whole nation-nap mystery... And now with Lil-Liechtenstein in the mix..."  
>America shrugged in reply and mumbled "I know, I know..." He walked over to his coffee machine and stared at it intently for a few seconds, as if it were the solution to all his problems (which, during very early mornings it is).<p>

"... Coffee?"  
>"What?"<p>

"Do you want any coffee?"  
>"... I'd prefer tea."<p>

"Sorry, I've only got coffee."  
>"... Fine, I'll have some coffee."<br>"OK."

"... So... Have you contacted the others yet?"  
>"Hm? Yeah, they'll be coming as soon as they can... That'll be tomorrow or the day after."<p>

"How many are coming?"  
>"Well... If we want to be reallistic... Two."<p>

"Unrealistic?"  
>"... Maybe seven or so."<p>

"Brilliant."  
>"..."<p>

"Why aren't the rest coming?"  
>"... They don't want to talk to me?"<p>

"Why?"

"... Well, before I found you again, I kept finding things that seemed to have something to do with the nation-nap mystery... Naturally, they were all deadends, leading no where. As time went on, I lost my credibility and the remaining nations just stopped trusting me. It hurt too much to be given hope, only for it to turn out to be false."

"... Oh."

"... Yeah."  
>"... So, now we're just waiting?"<p>

"Yeah... Gosh, I _hate_ waiting."  
>"Well... What would you usually do to pass the time?"<p>

"... I'd play video games or watch a horror movie or..."

"You know what, I'm going to check on Lil- Liechtenstein, see if I can wake her up."  
>"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, she did collapse-"<p>

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure."

* * *

><p>"What are they talking about?" Kiku wondered, as Feliciano poked his head out to see if anyone was left in the kitchen.<p>

"Ve~ It's so tempting to cook pasta~! It's _still _lying so lonely on the table..."

"I haven't go a clue. Nation-hopping? Nations... The nation-nap mystery?... It doesn't make sense..."  
>"Maybe we should confront Arthur-san on the matter tomorrow. Apparently he has also got Lilli-kun involved... He made it sound like he is dealing with illegal drugs..."<p>

"Ve~ You mean medical drugs that doctors prescribe?"  
>"... Yes Feli, Kiku means medical drugs."<p>

"Ve~ Well, Arthur spends time away from work and doesn't call us in order to spend time with 'Alfred'." Feliciano summarised.

"... Who's in favour of questioning him tomorrow, say I."  
>"I."<br>"I."  
>"Ve, I."<p>

"OK... Feliciano, if you'd drive us home?"

* * *

><p>"Crap. This isn't good." America muttered, as he continued to rattle Lilli.<p>

"What's the matter?" England asked, walking in.  
>"I can't wake her up!"<p>

"Huh? But... she's a lightsleeper...?" England trailed off, stumbling over to the bed, where America was trying and failing to wake a sleeping Liechtenstein up.  
>" Ah, this's really not good..."<p>

"... We're gonna have to try and wake her up any way possible." England told America, not that the American didn't know. "I'll fetch some water, that woke her up a couple months ago..." England announced, getting off the bed again, remembering when Lilli had absolutely refused to get out of bed one morning.  
>"What? Now? But what do-"<p>

"Yes, now America. Just try waking her up in the mean time." He pretty much ordered America, quickly rushing off, leaving America alone to do as he'd been told.

Sighing, America looked over to Liechtenstein, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, at the very least.

Why wouldn't she wake up already? Then a thought crossed his mind...

_What if...?_  
>He slowly reached out for her eyes, once reaching them, opening them gently.<p>

To his horror, they were completely dilated. She was most probably in a coma.

_How the heck did that happen? Nations don't go into a coma unless something real big's up! ... But... Being missing for almost a century... The impossible already happened once, it shouldn't surprise me that it could happen twice! Ah, what's the matter Liechti? What happened?  
><em>

Quickly, the America examined her, to see if her coma-state was achieved by physical damage. Afterall, maybe something happened between when she'd been at school and her appearing in front of him?

To his relief (or horror?) he found that she was physically absolutely fine. Maybe she hit her head hard somewhere? Maybe she was suffering from a brain clot (or was it called blood clot? or brain blood clot?) Maybe she was having a brainswelling? Maybe she was currently dying and he hadn't noticed?

_Calm down America. She's a nation... Our bodies work differently from human bodies. She'll be fine.  
>...<em>

_...  
><em>

_How_ do_ our bodies work?_

"America, I'm back with a bucket of water..."  
>"Iggy, there's no point. Liechtenstein... Lilli... Is in a coma... I think."<p>

_"_She's what?"  
>"She's in a coma."<p>

"... Really? I-is that possible? I thought the bodies of nations were supposed to work differently from human bodies!"  
>"I know, I <em>know<em>." America replied, sulking.

The two stood in the room quietly, both deeply concerned for the girl lying on the bed, sleeping. Finally, England found something to say, remembering something he'd thought of earlier.  
>"... America?"<p>

_"_Yes?" America asked, coming out of his thoughts.  
>"... How much do nations know about themselves?" England asked curiously.<p>

"Hm?" America repeated, not sure if had caught all of that.  
>"How much do nations know about themselves?" England asked again patiently.<p>

"Uh.. Well, they know their own history, since they lived through it and um... They um..."

"I _meant_ how nations _work_. Like... Is it possible to permanently harm a nation? How come we can act human and then... For example in your case, have superstrength or something? How come it's possible for us to feel hunger, yet have the ability to not eat anything for days on end? How come-"

"Oh _those_ kind of questions..." America said cheerily, although he sounded nervous. "Um... No one... Knows those kinda things... There are only so many nations around and with them being connected to a landmass and population..."

"OK... This means that if we start behaving _weird_ like Lilli- I mean _Liechtenstein and I are_... We won't have a clue what's wrong with us?"  
>"Uh... Yeah." America replied. He frowned, realising that he'd had similar thoughts earlier.<p>

"Well that's great." England muttered. "I just wish I knew what threw her into that state..." He sat down on the bed, caringly brushing the bangs away from her forehead, or at least, so that they didn't cover her closed eyes any more.

"Great, I'm going to have to head home soon and I can't take Liechtenstein home like this!"

"Huh? Why not?"  
>"She's in a damn coma git!"<p>

"... Oh boy. I think I can see the problem."  
>"You don't say? And that's not the half of it... The problem is, is that <em>Lilli<em>'s skipped school, I've ditched work and that Maria and Jack don't have a clue where I am half the time! Oh, brilliant work Kirkland, you've just made a lovely hell to sort out." England grumbled out, the last part to himself.

"So... Basically, you can't go back without questions being asked..." America summarised helpfully.  
>"You that damn right..." England groaned and sat down. "And life used to be so simple..."<p>

".. Maybe I can get the goverment to cover you!"  
>"Huh?"<p>

"There's a department that's still specialised with nations in my government. It means they're aware of us and often clean up messes we make. So, if a group of us were to go to a bar and get stone drunk and reveal stuff we shouldn't have, those guys come in and clean up the mess! Well... Only if that mess has something to do with me or happened in America."

"... Is that so?"  
>"Yeah!"<p>

"... I'll be guessing you'll have to call them then."

"I'll get the phone!"  
>"And order some food while you're at it!"* England listened to America rush down the stairs, before he decided to join him in the living room. He got up and tapped to the exit. Once there, he paused and listened to Liechtenstein's soft breathing, as if she was just sleeping.<p>

He sighed worriedly, rubbing his forehead._  
><em>

_What's wrong with you Lilli?_

* * *

><p>Lilli sat on the ground, in the middle of mountains. Her metaphorical mind (or something like that). Basically, she was having a dream. A long one.<p>

She knew she was having a dream. Mostly because there were three versions of herself fighting over what she should do.

Two knew everything there was to know about herself. The other one, which was probably representing how she really was at that current moment, knew nothing other than the name Lilli.

The one representing how she currently felt (named Unknowing for now) was wearing a dress with Mary-janes shoes and white knee-high socks at her feet.

The other two wore identical, baggy dresses that hung loosely from their bodies. They were both also noticeably paler than Unknowing and had scars, cuts and bruises in every single direction. One of them had a serious expression (Named Wanting), the other a frightened one (Named Unwanting). Currently, both Wanting and Unknowing were argueing with Unwanting.

"I... I don't want to remember..." Unwanting wimpered quietly, clutching her head protectively.  
>"But we have to, think of the other ... If we don't remember, they'll be ..." Lilli blinked in surprise. She saw Wanting's mouth move, but not a sound emit from it. She pulled her legs up and slung her arms around them, listening intently.<p>

Maybe she just missheard?

"Yeah, and don't be selfish! I want to know who I am!" Unknowing said. Unwanting shook her head. "You don't know. You don't remember the ... the ... ..." No, they deffinitely silenced when they were talking about something particular... How annoying.

"Of course ... remember! ... Let me!"  
>"That's because you don't ..."<p>

"But _I _know. And I also remember ... ... He... ... " What on earth were they talking about?  
>"You <em>don't<em> want to remember!" Unwanting wimpered again, tears leaking out her eyes. "I... If I remember... I'll ... "

Lilli sighed, wondering how long it would be until they noticed her. Really, they were pretty much voicing how she felt. She wanted to _desperately_ know what was going on, yet she also didn't want to at all, as if she remembered but decided not to.

It was a weird feeling. She sighed again deeply, her eyes focusing on the mountains. How she missed it. She let her hand softly touch her chest, noticing that it felt strangely hollow.

How come she never noticed before? Silently the girl looked back at the mountains, knowing one thing. She wished more than ever to be back in Liechtenstein.

* It has to be noted at this point, that after England's first meal with America, the brit quickly learnt to avoid letting America cook. Ever.

The idea of Nation-hopping doesn't belong to me. It originates from Kimanda, who is writing "Behind the Mask". If you wish to, like me, use this in your own fanfictions, ask her. Not me. Cause it's her idea.

The idea of Nation-hopping isn't mine! It's Kimanda's! (Just making it ABSOLUTELY clear!)

**Goodness, I'm so LAZY . This is actually a rewrite of the original chapter, that's why it's _SO_ "long".. Argh... Please forgive me for making it so crappy. I just hate this chapter so much. The original chappie was really long, so PLEASE forgive me for making this ridicolously short.**

**P.S. Nation-hopping isn't my idea. I borrowed it from Kimanda, who's writing Behind the Mask. **

**I'll try to update on Friday again, no promises though!  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 8

England. That's his name. For more than a year though, he thought his name was Arthur Kirkland.

Roughly two weeks ago, he had the misfortune to serve a loud, obnoxious American that grinded his nerves to dust.

On that day, England, or as he knew himself: _Arthur_ had found the American's phone.

A week later he gave the phone back to the American. The American, called 'Alfred' pulled his sunglasses off without permission and Arthur gone him angry.

The next day, Alfred explained his behaviour to Arthur and he found out that he knew Alfred before whatever happened more than a year ago.

Two days ago, England had to swallow the concept of a nation.

One day ago or yesterday, England found out that his charge, Lilli, who turns out to be Liechtenstein, fell into a coma.

Arthur Kirkland, now referring to himself as England, thought that he'd been through a lot in the last two weeks. The week he was about to face however, proved him wrong. Very, very wrong.

* * *

><p>England woke up slowly, noticing that he was leaning on a bed, his head resting in his arms. Slowly, his lids fluttered open, although there was no point seeing as he couldn't see anything. Sighing, he realised he'd fallen asleep at Liechtenstein's side.<p>

He rubbed his eyes tiredly and started searching for his sunglasses, which seemed to have disappeared off his face. America probably took them off when he checked up on Liechtenstein at some point during night...

England yawned, finally finding the missing pair of glasses and propping them on his nose. Slowly, he got to his feet and gently put his hand in Liechtensteins, sqeezing it slightly. No reaction. Sighing, he stretched.

Lilli was probably in a coma and he had no idea why.

After sometime, he gave out a depressed sigh, as he wandered out of the room, having familiarised himself with America's home at long last.

"America?" England called out several times, adjusting his clothing a bit. He had slept in them and they felt hot and uncomfortable, clinging to his body like... Something clingy.

After not receiving a reply, England tapped to the bottom of the stairs.

It didn't take much brains to realise that America wasn't at home, especially after England had made a cup of coffee (which seemed to magically call America to it in the mornings... And yes, this was _another_ thing England successfully didn't mess up... Too badly).

Sighing, the Brit decided to drink the coffee himself. Where was that git?

He tapped back up the stairs, feeling more awake after having taken in some caffeine. Now he needed a shower and a new set of clothes... And a cup of tea.

Well, two out of three was never that bad...

* * *

><p>"America!"<br>"Spain!"

"... America!" Spain called out again happily, finally reaching the American and hugging him. America hugged back, happy to be embraced so warmly by someone. It felt like an eternity since anyone showed _some _kind of warmness* to America.

Too long.

Cursing almost immediately errupted from behind the Spaniard and America couldn't help but grin at a certain Italian's antics.

"Hello Romano!" He greeted, moving over to hug Romano, but he dodged him and quickly hid behind Spain.

"Get away from me, you burger bastard**!"

"Aw... You hug Spain though!" America whined playfully. He then grinned, seeing Romano turn a beautiful shade of tomato red.

"Shut up, damn it!" Romano hissed, looking away. Both America and Spain laughed at the flushed Italian, said nation facing them again to give them a unsatisfactory glare. The two taller nations started laughing harder, but calmed down when Romano launched himself into a rant made of mostly curses.

Ignoring Romano, America asked a question that had been bugging him since he'd spotted Spain at the airport. "Did you get anyone else round?"

"Si! Look, Germany!" Spain replied, pointing behind himself. "I almost got Ireland and China, but Ireland then fell ill because of the common cold and China somehow managed to avoid us!" Spain blabbed happily.

America smiled too. "What about the South Americans? I always got the impression you were on good terms..."  
>"Soon as I mentioned the Northern part of America, they said no..." Spain explained.<p>

"Oh... Well, they'll just miss the party, won't they?"  
>"Si! ... So, what's the surprise?" Spain asked.<p>

"Are you two delibrately shutting me out? Damn you both!" Romano suddenly said, disliking being ignored. Spain smiled at the shorter man and patted him (unintentionally) patronizingly on the head.

"You are so cute when you're annoyed."  
>"I'm not annoyed, I'm angry, damn it!"<p>

"... That's nice Romano. Ah, um... Hi Germany!" America said to the slightly frustrated German, who only glared in response. Shrinking back a bit, America waved the others to follow him.  
>"So, who wants to drive? I mean, I know you guys won't let me, so..."<p>

"I will drive." Germany said firmly, not giving anyone room to complain. The four nations exited the airport after doing all the trivial things a nation had to do at an airport, such as passing through security, picking up luggage, going for a pee that someone for unexplainable reasons had been holding for roughly five hours, tearing America away from the airport McDonalds, etc.

The four nations settled down in America's car, Germany and America in the front and Spain and Romano in the back. They entered the motorway, most of the trip being silent, other than America occasionally complaining about the speed Germany was driving at and giving directions, that often lead to a McDonalds, instead of America's home.

After a long, long time of driving in circles, the nations reached America's house. For some strange reason, America had become nervous, adjusting his glasses every five seconds and occasionally running his hand through his hair.

"OK guys, we're here!" America announced happily after Germany parked on his driveway. "I'll just go unlock the door, so that you can just enter!" America then added, rushing out of the car. What was he so nervous about?

Romano didn't really care, Spain didn't really notice, but it didn't escape Germany. He frowned as he watched America quickly enter his home, disappearing out of sight. Eventually he sighed and got out of the car.

The other two exited the car also, pulling out their luggage. For reasons beyond them, America had actually _invited them_ to stay at his place.

And for reasons unknown to themselves, they _agreed_. Were they crazy? Well it _is_ more than likely, with the nation-nap mystery and everything...

Germany took out his bag and walked up to America, who had long entered. "America!" He called out, looking around for the obnoxious idiot as several nations once upon a time called him.

"'m here! Just go into the living room! I want to show you the surprise before anything else!" Germany frowned then turned around to see Spain and Romano finally coming over too. He called out to them.

"America wants us to wait for him in the living room."  
>"Ah, OK!" Spain replied, although Romano just muttered a complaint about not being shown to his room immediately.<p>

The three nations bustled into the living room, which was surprisingly neat and tidy, as in comparison to the usual mess they'd find it in.

Don't get it wrong, America's place _was_ tidy, but often a few magazines would be found lying on the table, surrounded by coffeemugs and burger wrappers and a few other things would be put out of place, maybe a few books, the TV remote, etc.

Currently, everything was where it belonged and there wasn't a single mug or wrapper on the table...

Strangely also, there was a lack of burger and cola smell in the air. It had been replaced by... They couldn't tell. But something deffintely was different to the last of many times they had visited America.

They all jerked their heads up when they heard a loud crash emit from upstairs, followed by scuffling.

"What was that?" Romano asked. Spain and Germany looked at each other, both sharing a grim face.

Without even speaking, both nations raced upstairs, fearing the worst. What the remaining nations don't know, is that both of them had been around when a nation they knew was kidnapped (With Germany, it was Prussia, with Spain: Portugal) and now they feared that it was happening again.

"Amerika?" Germany shouted, smashing the door open that lead to the room the crash had sounded from.

Germany and Spain (and Romano, who raced after them) had been expecting several things. They had been expecting an empty room with a smashed open window, America no where in sight. They had also expected America to be struggling and yelling for whoever was holding him or threatening him to stop it or something.

However, on bothsides they were wrong. He was not in the process of being kidnapped, neither had he disappeared without trace.

No, something far more shocking was in front of them. An angry _England_ was standing at one end of the room, America in the other, holding a pair of sunglasses, fear written on his face as he pressed his back against the wall.

Spain and Germany (and Romano! Damn it, don't forget him!) stood there in silence as they observed the nation who's anger faded away when he heard America's name being called out in German.

America looked between Germany and Spain (And Romano; will you stop forgetting him?) and England, not sure on what to do. The three nations that had entered the room looked more shocked than ever and weren't in any state to talk.

They stared at the Brit looking him over, all of them noting his slightly clouded eyes.* Was... Was this that guy that had served him two weeks ago?

Finally, someone broke the silence. To everyone's subconcious surprise though, it wasn't America.

"... I-I assume you guys must be the nations America was telling me about...?"

* * *

><p>"... Arthur-san... Quit? Just like that?" Kiku asked surprised after he got to work that morning.<p>

"Well... No. I'm not sure. Either Arthur left or got fired, the boss isn't giving any details. Probably fired, since he's been skipping work for the last few days..." Beatrice replied from her computer.

"But he loves his job! Sure, he got frustrated over every single rude or annoying or _whatever_ customer, but he'd never quit! Plus, our boss likes him! I mean... Arthur gets special treatment from Mr. Connors!" Matthew inturrupted.

"I'm sorry guys, but we don't have details. Arthur isn't a waiter at Blind Sense any more. Don't ask why."

"... But he needs the job!" Matthew insisted.  
>"As I <em>said<em>, we don't have _any_ details. Besides, I never knew Arthur _that_ well... So I wouldn't know if his disemployment was fishy or not." The receptionist replied, shrugging.

"... But... Where is Arthur-san then, if he is not here?" Kiku asked.  
>"Well I don't know. Why don't you just <em>call<em> him if you want to know so desperately?"

"Ve~ That's a good idea Beatrice!" Feliciano inturrupted, smiling at her. Beatrice smiled back, her smile brightening when Feli hurriedly shoved Matthew and Kiku away from the reception area.

"You guys know Beatrice didn't deserve that..." Feliciano scolded, although it was difficult to take the Italian seriously. Before Mattie or Kiku could respond to Feli's comment, he continued.

"Ve~ I think I have Arthur's home number on my phone! Wait a sec!" The two were silent, listening to Feli taking out his phone, quickly looking for the number.  
>"Ve! I have it!"<p>

"Well what're you waiting for, eh**? Put it on loudspeakers!" Feli obeyed and the three hunched over the phone, listening to it beeping.

"_Hello, Maria Dearer speaking?_"  
>"Ve~! Hello Maria! It's me, Feliciano!"<p>

"_Oh! Hello Feliciano! It's great to hear from you!_"  
>"Ve~ How're you doing?"<p>

"Feli, concentrate..." Kiku whispered to the Italian, reminding the pasta-lover why he was calling.

"Never mind, hey Maria, I called you for a reason!"  
>"<em>... That would be?<em>"

"Is Arthur there? Cause he seems to have stopped working for no reason..."  
>"<em>...Oh you called for<em> him_... Um... He... Uh... He... moved away..._" (insert awkward pause)

"... Sorry, I don't think I quite caught that..." Feli finally said.  
>"<em>He doesn't live here any more.<em>"

"... What do you mean...?"  
>"<em>I'm sorry, I can't say more than that. Goodbye Feliciano.<em>"

"Wait, Maria-"  
>"<em>beepbeepbeepbe...<em>" Feliciano hung up with surprise.

"What was that about?" Matthew finally asked.

"... That was indeed strange."  
>"Doesn't it take a long time to move to places?" Feliciano asked.<p>

"Yeah... It also takes a longer period of time to leave a job..."  
>"... So strange. "<p>

"Ve~ I know! We can call Arthur over _his_ cell!"  
>"... Feli.. Arthur-san does not have a phone."<p>

"But... He couldn't have just moved without a moments notice!" Mattie continued, trying to sort his thoughts out. The three gave out a sigh.  
>"Vargas! Honda! Williams!" A deep voice suddenly called out. All three heads looked up, in the direction the voice had came from. Feliciano saw Mr. Connors standing in the hallway, as red as a tomato (from where had he heard that again? Never mind...) as always.<p>

"I do not pay you to sit around all day! Get back to your feet, the first customers will be arriving soon!"  
>"Yes sir!" All three said, their thoughts rapidly forgetting Arthur Kirkland, as they rushed to their positions in the kitchens...<p>

* * *

><p>"... America?"<br>"... Yes England?"

"..."  
>"..."<p>

"There were a lot of reactions I was expecting from them. Happiness. Sadness. Surprise. Rage even."  
>"... Yeah?"<p>

"... ... I was not expecting Germany and Spain to faint or Romano to run away America."  
>"... ... Dude, I don't think<em> anyone<em> was expecting that."

* * *

><p>Germany groaned. He had a headache. <em>Meine Güte, what happened? ... Must of had one beer too many...<em> he thought rubbing his head. _Doesn't feel like a hangover though..._

He soon realised that he had a cold, wet flannel on his head. What had happened? He paused and thought. The last thing he remembered was getting off a plane with Spain and Romano... No wait, he also remembered...

And then...

...And then...

England.

With a start, Germany's eyes shot open, immediately scanning the area. His eyes widened slightly when he saw England sitting on a couch, his hands darting back and fourth in a book he was holding... He was reading.

"Y-You're still here." Germany muttered out, quickly getting over his shock. England's head turned to him, his eyes not needing to dart over the page.  
>He sighed.<p>

".. yes. Yes I am."  
>".. Why?"<p>

".. What do you mean 'why'?"  
>"Why are you back?" He asked, sitting up. England sighed, putting his book down.<p>

"If I'm honest... I don't know. I don't remember anything from more than a year ago, before I was found in a bin with no memory." He explained, shrugging.

"... That means you know about as much about the nation-nap mystery as the next nation?"  
>"Yes, I'm afraid so... But America insists I'm the first clue to finding them... Apart from Liechtenstein, we don't know who else... May have come back."<p>

"Liechtenstein is back?"  
>"Yes. So far, we don't know if anyone else is around though, as said before..." England continued.<p>

"... You're the waiter that served us at Blind Sense, aren't you?" England nodded, his hands picking up a pair of sunglasses lying on the table and putting them on.

"How is it possible for you to be unable to see?"  
>"We don't know. I'm starting to think that we, as countries, don't know much about how we work." England added, sighing.<p>

"... Ja, that's true, but it never was that problematic in the past... Meine Güte, you're _back_." Germany muttered leaning back against the sofa, trying to swallow the idea. After so long, he never thought he'd ever see another nation outside of the remaining seventeen ever again.

Talk about shock.

"I understand how you feel. Can you imagine how I felt when I was told I wasn't human? That's a _real_ shocker when you don't know about countries." England said, forcing a smile onto his face, which was supposed to be comforting.

Germany didn't respond.

"... Can I see Liechtenstein?" He finally asked after a long pause.

* * *

><p><em>I don't want to remember. I just want to go home to Liechtenstein. I don't care whether I'm Liechtenstein or Lilli... I just want to go <em>home_, back to the mountains where I belong.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"I've got it!" Mattie suddenly said, after the three exited the restaurant, having finished the lunch shift (they went home early on thursdays).<br>"What have you got Mattie-san?"

"I know where Arthur must be! Remember yesterday, when we followed after him? He must have gone there! I mean, we _know _he's never been there before or at least, not often, since he was using his cane."

"Ve~ That sounds logical!" Feliciano replied happily.

"... It's a bit vague, isn't it?"  
>"What other choice do we have? Maria won't tell us where he went, Mr. Connors won't talk about him and the school Lilli attends doesn't know either!"<p>

"Ve~ He has a point Kiku!"  
>"... I suppose. But we must go there thinking that Arthur <em>isn't<em> there, so that if he really isn't there..."  
>"<em>..."<em>

"Ve, how depressing."  
>"... Well let's hit the road guys! We've got a missing Brit to find!"<p>

* * *

><p>"... Are you sure this is Liechtenstein's room?"<br>"... Yes, why?"

"Es ist nur*... No one's in here..."  
>"What? But... But that's impossible! A-America!"<p>

"What's up?"  
>"Hola Inglaterra! I can't believe you're still here, but I'm so glad you are!"<p>

"America, please tell me you put Liechtenstein somewhere else!"  
>("Damn bastards, they're ignoring me! Again! Isn't this Canada's thing?")<p>

"... No, I haven't entered her room since this morning."  
>"... But... If you haven't moved her... And she's <em>deffinitely<em> in a coma... Where is she?"

* * *

><p>Lilli's eyes slowly opened, as she stared tiredly up into the blue, clear sky above her.<br>_What happened?_ She asked herself quietly, the last thing she remembered being at school.

She thought about sitting up, but decided not to. No. She was feeling too exhausted for reasons beyond her...

Anyway, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she felt... Complete. She didn't know why, but it must be a coincidence.

Slowly, she leaned back again, closing her eyes, as she let the sun above her shine and warm her up comfortingly.

_It's nice to be here again..._

* * *

><p><strong>*Is that even a word? ... Yeeeaah. It is... Now.<strong>  
><strong>** This was originally Capitalist Pig, but I'm glad to have found a more apropriate insult for America. (Thank you Blue Wallpaper and NONAMESWEREAVAILABLE)<strong>  
><strong>*The clouded eyes are for movie effects. :3<strong>  
><strong>** In some fanfictions Canada has a habit of saying eh... I'm not sure if it's Canadian but whatever...<br>* It's just that... **

**I just wanted to add that updates may become A LOT slower, due to school and doctor who(me be major fan), sorry.**

**Also, thanks for the reviews! Seriously, they make me happy (the 20th review especially ;) )  
>Yes! I have twenty reviews! I'm very, very happy!<strong>

**Feel free to leave another encouraging and wonderful review~ **

**Review plz?  
><strong>


	10. Chapter 9

"Sir, we can locate Liechtenstein again!"  
>"What? ... Where is she?"<p>

"She's in Liechtenstein sir!"  
>"Dispatch a group of scouts immediately. Bring her back and search area for other missing countries."<p>

"Yes sir!"

* * *

><p>"What do we do Mattie-san? Demand to know where Arthur-san is?"<br>"I... I guess."

The odd trio had been standing in front of the front door for what felt like an eternity, feeling apprehensive on what to do. On one hand, if Arthur _was_ there, he'd want to know how they found him, on the other hand, if Arthur _wasn't_ there, what do they say?

"Oh sorry, we thought our friend-that's-gone-missing was at your place and suspected that you might even be a kidnapper or something?" No. That just wouldn't cut it.

"Ve~ I'll knock!" Feliciano announced happily, obviously having not shared the same fear as Matthew and Kiku.

"Wait!" Both burst out, having just decided that this whole plan was a _bad, bad_ idea. But it was too late. Feliciano had already rung the doorbell and was now (persistantly) knocking on the door.

Both of them silenced, Mattie fiddling with his cane, Kiku biting his lip nervously, as Feliciano (with oblivious happiness) continuously knocked on the door. They heard footsteps, multiple.

If they heard correctly, they'd say that four, maybe five people were making their way over to the door.

The handle clicked, as someone behind the door pressed it down and slowly opened it.

"Ve! Where's Arthur, you Kirkland-napping Person!" Feliciano demanded, with a very odd seriousness in his voice.

Kiku and Mattie both mentally smacked their foreheads and groaned quietly.

To their surprise, they were greeted by silence. Kiku and Mattie heard footsteps. One person hadn't seen them yet. The person pushed forwards, a loud tapping sound accompaniyng the man (they were assuming it's a he).

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Arthur demanded. Sadly, none of them could reply, because the four people who'd opened the doors had quickly taken the three into their arms, three names, or better said country names, sounding out all at once: Canada, Italy (Veneziano) and Japan.

Feliciano found himself being hugged by two people, that looked familiar to him... Especially the South Italian one. Wait, he didn't know if this guy was South Italian! Why'd he assume that?

"... America, don't tell me _they're_ nations too? Is every bloody person I know a country?" America didn't respond immediately, hugging Canada tightly.

"Dunno, maybe I outta give you a list with the countries human names on 'em!" America responded, still too happy at seeing his long lost twin brother again.

Matthew frowned. 'Canada', as in the country? Why was the guy hugging him and calling him that? And why was Arthur addressing him as 'America'?

Japan had unknowingly widened his eyes, having had his private space invaded by two people, he couldn't tell who. One of which was called 'America'. What an odd name... But the voice fitted it nicely... And another one, with a German accent...

Strange, he could _swear_ he'd heard those voices before...

Suddenly, all three (Canada, Japan and Italy) were overcome with the feeling of having a brainfreeze, and they quickly lost their balance, collapsing into the arms that had been hugging them.

* * *

><p>"Sir, we can faintly detect North Italy, Japan and Canada!"<br>"Where are they?"

"... Oh shit."  
>"Sir, we do not tolerate such language in this-"<p>

"Sir, they're with America, Germany, Spain and South Italy in the USA, a couple miles away from Canadian borders."  
>"Shit."<p>

* * *

><p>Liechtenstein woke up, her fingers lingering over her chest, right on top of her heart, as she fearfully looked around herself. Her first thoughts were <em>Get away from here<em>.

Of course she was relieved she could remember, after all, now all she had to do was find the other nations and tell them where the other countries were to rescue them, then the endless pains would finally be over...

The only problem is, is that, as said before, she could remember. The ability to remember was (as tests previously showed) usually accompanied by the reactivation of their connection to their country.

Which means that she really was Liechtenstein again, not just a personification unconnected to it's landmass and people.

It also made her detectable again.

Which meant that they were after her again... When they escaped, they had been working on a way for them to use nation-hopping (They referred to it as simple teleporting though) as well... It's been a year since then, which means they may have succeeded by now.

She slowly got to her feet. _Ok Liechti, you've got to stay calm. Now, do you remember the names of the countries that weren't with us? ... Come on, you've got to remember them, otherwise you've got nowhere to go and no one to warn!_ She thought, as she tugged at the school-uniform skirt she was wearing.

_That's it, I remember Germany and... South Italy and Spain and... I've got to go to one of their-_

A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, just as she was about to nation-hop to Germany's home, which was nearer to her than any other.

"And where do you think _you're_ going little miss?" Her eyes (if possible) widened, the fear escalating to levels no nation should reach as she saw several men, clad in a specific uniform, surround her, one of which, as said before, holding her wrist. He had a feral grin on his face.

_Hop already!_ She screamed in her mind, as she tried to tug her arm out of the man's iron grip.

Finally, she had enough control over herself to hop, but a wave of electric shocks suddenly shot through her body as she tried to hop, forcing her to her knees.

"Nice try little miss. Not only do we know how you can hop, we also know how to stop it." The man sneered, tightening his grip. It didn't really hurt, since countries naturally had better physical capabilities than humans, but she still whimpered.

_I can't be caught. Not again, not ever!_

Immediately, Liechtenstein reached for a memory that had been hidden in the back of her mind, labelled "Switzerland's Training". She gave the man a short and sharp glare, not long enough for him to figure out what she was about to do.

Her leg shot up and kicked him between the legs, immediately making him curl up into a feeble position on the ground. Gunsshots were immediately followed by this action, but for reasons beyond her, every single bullet missed her.

She quickly got to her feet again and ran in a zigzag line, trying to dodge the bullets. Did she dare to nation-hop? She wasn't sure, since she didn't know what kind of device it was that had stopped her nation-hopping.

Was it a gadget with a radius of ten metres? Was it a chemical that she breathed in and wouldn't wear off for another two hours?

She bit her lip when a bullet embeded itself in her shoulder, stopping herself from screaming allowed. _I'll risk it._ She thought, preparing to nation-hop again.

This was her only ticket of escaping them.

The only possibility.

The only way.

It didn't work.

In the city of Vaduz (Liechtenstein's capital city), everyone straightened up, hearing a girl scream at the top of her lungs.

And everyone stopped walking for just that one short moment.

* * *

><p>China was currently waiting impatiently for the aeroplane to land.<p>

He hadn't been able to think straight ever since America called. He was very worried about the younger nation's mental stability.

And no, he wasn't overworrying out of fear of losing another nation. He was not having any exaggerated worst-case scenarios playing in his head over and over again.

He was just checking up on one of the young nations. That's all.

He tapped his fingers on the seat impatiently, as he looked out the window.  
>"<em>This is your captain speaking!<em>" A voice suddenly said over the mike. "_Because of turbulance..._" The captain continued, China tuning him out frustrated.

"I hate planes..." China muttered darkly, sinking into his seat. Why were public transports always unreliable in times of needs?

* * *

><p>"Ve~ I'm so relieved to see you Germany!" Italy said happily, then looked at the two people steadying him.<br>"And you guys too~ I haven't seen you in decades!"

"Wait, you already know?" England asked surprised, not having expected Italy to remember anything, like him. But apparently, one glance at a few countries let him remember everything he needed to.

"Ve~ No, I only just remembered. Well, I did know, but only subconciously..." Italy explained, finding that he _had_ had the knowledge all this time, but, as he had said, it was subconcious.

"Shut up you damn idiot." Romano muttered, clinging to his brother, afraid that he'd suddenly disappear again.

"A-America... Let me down..." Canada managed to say, looking around himself for the first time in decades. He couldn't help but smile.

America loosened his grip, feeling a little shocked that the trio (Japan hadn't said anything yet, but was bound to soon) had remembered everything just like that.

Both England and America had been expecting the same dilemma they had with Arthur finding out he was England but... Apparently, they remembered without any problems...

Unlike England...

That didn't make sense.

Japan looked around nervously, as if he was expecting to be pounced on or something. While letting his eyes dart around wildly, the usually timid and calm nation asked "I suggest we go inside, I am sure you have many questions to ask."

* * *

><p>"We can now detect them completely sir. They have reconnected with their landmass and people."<p>

"Start the evacuation and send the spies to spy them."

"Sir, wouldn't it be wiser to simply capture them?"  
>"No. It would not. Now do as commanded."<p>

"Yes sir!"  
>"Sir!"<br>"Yes?

"The scout group has successfully captured Liechtenstein and discovered Sealand, Latvia and South Korea there. They are awaiting further orders."

"Tell them to take Liechtenstein to AB2 and to observe the three nations they've found. As soon as they show signs to remembering, take them to AB2 as well. If any countries that have remained uncaptured* are seen in Liechtenstein (the country), take them to AB2 immediately."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

><p>England was busy trying <em>not<em> to nibble at his fingernails nervously.

How come Japan, Canada and Italy (after they reintroduced themselves to him... That was awkward...) remembered the _moment_ they heard/saw them? How come he wasn't able to do that? Everytime _he_ tried to remember, he felt like he ran into a brick wall, impossible to get through.

Both the three nations that had recovered their memories at astonishingly fast speeds were staring around the place, as if expecting something bad arriving at some point. They also hung around the other nations, going so far as to it being called 'clingy'.

Although, the countries that hadn't gone missing were equally clingy. Italy seemed to be stuck to both Romano and Germany, Japan made sure he always had both America and Germany in sight and Canada clung mostly to America, but also checked for the other nations present.

He let out a barely audible sigh, as he took a sip of coffee America had hurriedly made.

There was a long awkward pause surrounding them. No one knew how to break the silence, since no one really knew what to do.

They were too busy spending time with missed ones to really break the silence.

England took another sip. Where was Liechtenstein? They still didn't know. They sat there, a grandfather clock America must have gotten at some point ticked loudly in the unsually quiet house.

Finally, America, being the 'hero', broke the silence.

"... So... What happened to you guys? Since you remember who you are, I assume you'd also remember what happened?"

The odd trio all gave out a tired sigh, which was actually quite surprising for Italy, since he was usually an all-round-cheerful guy.

Japan fiddled a bit with the cane he had needed to use only moments ago. "Our stories are all a little different, but are the same still... It would be my honour to tell the tale of the horrors we went through for my fellow nations."

Both Canada and Italy looked at the Japanese man gratefully and quietly leaned into the other countries embraces, as if they were trying to hide or afraid to be taken away again.

Japan cleared his throat nervously. England looked up, also wanting to know what happened. He was a bit annoyed that he couldn't remember, but maybe listening to the tale would enlighten his memory.

"Well, I guess I should begin with the day I went missing..." Japan started nervously.

* * *

><p><em>I don't really remember what happened, by that, I mean I don't know how I got <em>kidnapped_. _

_I remember vaguely that I was just enjoying the scenery that my house provides, but that's it._

_I was very, very surprised when I woke up. Several countries were lying in front of me and the walls, ceilings and floors were white, a UV light shining above us. I wanted to get a better look at where I was, but I found that I was unable to move._

_I was only able to breathe and blink. I couldn't even look around._

_So I tried to look at the things I could see indirectly. In front of me was England, surrounding both of us were other countries, Italy, Hungary, South Korea, Seychelles, among others, from practically everywhere on the earth._

_England was awake, unlike the rest of the nations and staring into space. I was unsure on what to do, so I strained my ears to see if I could here anything. And I did, but it was very quiet and very faint and I only heard very little clearly._

_The conversation went something like this:_

_"When I said as many countries as you can, I didn't mean_ all_ of them!"  
>"It isn't all. We failed to capture seventeen of them. Or was it eighteen?"<em>

_"That is besides the point! We haven't got any room for them and we haven't got enough drugs!"_

_"But I did my job and I did it _well_." The other voice sighed._

_"I guess you're right. We will keep our side of the bargain up."  
>"That is all I ask."<em>

_Other than that, I couldn't hear anything. I then noticed that England was blinking his eyes rapidly at presumably me. It didn't take long to realise he was morse coding me._

_"U. O. K." Three letters... Two words. "You Okay?" is what he had asked._

_"N.*" I morsed back, straining to remember how to morse code. After all, it had been a while since I needed it.**_

_"N here 2." England replied. We started communicating with each other as best we could, although it was a little difficult. We figured out that both of us were incapable of any movement other than blinking and breathing, that we both didn't know where we were and that we both had a sinking feeling in the pits of our stomaches._

_We spent a long time unable to do anything other than try to stay calm, in which we both admittably failed. I then blacked out, for reasons I do not know._

_When I woke up again, I was alone, but able to move freely again. It troubled me that I was alone._

_I sat up, simply relieved to know that I wasn't completely alone in this situation. Only alone in the room. I looked around. In one corner there was a toilet and sink, in another a thin matress. There was a large, metallic door, with no lock, but a hatch. Everything was white and the UV light gave it a cold feeling, colder than it already was._

_I soon also realised that I was no longer wearing my usual clothing. It had been replaced with what equalled hospital patient clothing.*_

_I thought it was a bit disturbing that someone had changed my clothes, but then again, the situation was quite distressing._

_I got up and examined everything closely, but there was nothing there, apart from what was already mentioned. I couldn't find any obvious ways of escape, neither did anything give me any information on what was going on or where I was._

_At some point, the hatch in the door opened and food and water slid in. I hadn't expected that and went to the hatch, but it closed before I could glimpse out of it._

_I, at first, pushed the food away, it being the only thing I could do. Whoever brought me here wanted me alive. By not eating or drinking, I was showing that I refused to give in. Sadly, after a few nights, food and water continously being pushed in, I gave in, not able to stare at the pile of food._

_I ate as little as I could, doing it as slowly as possible. There wasn't anything to do in here, so I usually tried to figure things out, things that were impossible to figure out without needed information... _

_Weeks past and nothing happened. The hatch opened, food and water came in, it closed. The trays were never taken out, I didn't know what to do with them. I thought about using them to try and open the door, but after examining the door closely, decided that this was no possibility._

_Soon six months had passed and I was just hoping that other nations would let me out, and I thought a lot of things over. Then I heard a tapping sound. It tapped irregularly and again, I realised it had been morse code. During the months that had gone by, I had practiced several things I usually wouldn't have had time for, Morse Code was one of them._

_It turned out to be Liechtenstein. She told me that in her other neighbouring cell was Switzerland, who neighboured Cuba, who neighboured France, who neighboured England, who neighboured Russia, who neighboured Latvia, etc._

_She asked me to see if anyone was on the opposite side of the wall in my cell. I checked. It was Greece.  
><em>

_We started exchanging information, which followed that no one else knew what was happening. A lot of cursing apparently came from the other cells._

_Then, twenty years after being in the cells, Mexico announced that someone had taken Romania out of his cell._

_We all immediately got worried and a whole lot of tapping sounded off the walls._

_Romania was gone for a couple days. When he came back and was asked what had happened he replied that he knew what was going on._

_"They are scientific Humans. They study countries. They have nearly all of us, I don't know which or how many. They are... Experimenting on us."_

_ This news shocked us (but it also added up to what I heard)._

_We wanted to know more, but Romania was too exhausted to even lift a finger. Halfway through tapping Experimenting on us, his taps had started becoming barely audible. By the time he tapped s, his cell neighbours heard a thud and realised he had collapsed._

_But there was no need to want to find out more. As time went on, we found out by ourselves, all of us being taken in and out of the empty cells. _

_We still didn't know where we were, but we knew what was going on. After thirty years of being experimented upon in many different ways, we realised that no one was coming for us._

_We were lost and the remaining nations would never be able to find us, since even _we_ didn't know where we were._

_So we started planning an escape, a majority of it requiring a lot of patience. The plan started with three volunteers...  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>*Such as America or Germany.<strong>  
><strong>*In the old computer games, were you made simple decisions, such as yes or no, for yes you had Y and no you had N. So it went something like this: <em>Defend self from Killer? YN_ I really like those computer games, but they don't make them any more. TT^TT I think you can download some off the internet, but my mental image of downloading is downloading =**  
><strong>**Actually I'm not sure. Do countries still morse code? ... Shrugs dismissively.<strong>  
><strong>*I suck at comparisons. As many probably said before me: Fail Description is Fail Description. I'm basically talking about those dress thingies that get tied together at the back, that hospital patients wear... Yeah, Fail Description is fail Description.<strong>

**On other notes, I apologise for not updating sooner. I was suffering from writers block, and my usual life wasn't helping either. I just knew what I needed to write but not how to, so yeah... Plus, the next few chapters are going to be very, very important (obviously), so bare with, bare with.**

**And on a random note, I'm also hooked on HetaOni. Which sucks, cause I don't really have the time to watch it and I usually do things in one go (a bad habit, I know).  
>Anyway, all announcements are now said, please bare with for the next update.<strong>

**Review?  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 10

_The three volunteers were made of England, Canada and I. At the time, all three of us were taken out of our cells regularly and usually at the same time. This we had to use to our advantage._

_At first, we had to memorise the routes we took everytime we were taken out and put back in. It was vital to know exactly where you could turn and run. _

_After a short period of studying the corridors, we had all agreed to run. I had just been taken out of my cell, Canada was probably on the way back, having been missing the longest and England was somewhere._

_I found it frustrating that my hands were cuffed, but it still left me free to kicking. I stopped walking with my captors, the guard behind me walking straight into me. Not too impressed with my sudden halt, he said "Move it." Those two words gave me a rough idea of where he stood and with precision, I did a summersault, making sure that I'd hit the man in his jaw. I succeeded, but I still had the other three to try and escape from._

_They were stunned at first, which gave me a couple seconds to quickly attack them too. I tried as fast a possible to knock them out and again succeeded. I was relieved to know that they hadn't been expecting any of the countries to fight back._

_I quickly searched the guards as best I could and soon found the keys. I unlocked the cuffs, rubbing my wrists, feeling satisfied. I knew I was far from free, but this was the closest I'd been in years. I quickly rushed away from the corridor. Although it would have made more sense to try and free the others, the escape plan didn't start with merely three countries escaping their grasp._

_We needed to make sure as many of us as possible could escape._

_In other words, us three were scouts, exploring the facility, searching for as many exits as possible._

_Sometime after I'd escaped, they noticed, letting the sirens blare out. They were looking for me. Also, the sirens signaled England and Canada to escape as well._

_The first thing I did was run down a few floors and to try and find a map. I had knocked one of the guards unconcious and stolen his uniform, so I could mingle with the workers._

_Opening several doors at random, I usually only found offices, littered with different notes. I had once or twice also found a staff room, kitchens in the far corner, stored with food and drinks._

_I spent a whole week undercover, and yet I still hadn't found a map of the building or an exit. Things were going awry for us, we still hadn't found an exit. The facility really is large. At a later point we found out that it has fifty-one floors. At the time we didn't know._

_ Anyway, I soon found other nations (outside of England and Canada)._

_You see, at the time, we didn't know where the others were kept. There were ten cells along our side. Ten cells opposite us, of course we couldn't contact them, since we didn't share any walls with them._

_But there were also countries _underneath_ and _above_ us. In each room with cells, holding countries prisoners, there were in total twenty cells, making it ten floors with twenty nations on them. This is where I made my mistake. _

_ I tried contacting each one and succeeded... I then realised that there were several empty cells. At first I thought it was because seventeen countries were missing from the 'collection', but after counting nineteen missing countries... I asked them, but no one responded... And then I got caught. This all happened three weeks after escaping them._

_Canada had found other things, more useful than the knowledge of the rooms we were experimented on, the offices they work in or the places they reside in when they're not busy studying or torturing us. _

_He had found the Security HQ, a few medical rooms and several weaponry rooms. Sadly, he, much like me, hadn't found any exits._

_England... He only mentioned one room he'd found, whether or not he had found an exit he didn't say, we just assumed he hadn't found one. He had gone downwards several levels, to the basement if you want._

_There... Well, when he _did_ finally talk about what he had found, he only tapped two words. "Dead Nations." We... figured from his news, that they (the kidnappers) knew how to kill countries... Something even we don't know how to do, other than... Well, you know._

_Basically, I got caught talking to other countries, Canada got caught in one of the higher floors and England got caught shortly after having found the... Dead nations... And no Germany, I don't know which countries are... Dead...  
><em>

_The new leader of the place thought we were merely trying to escape and that we'd been unable to escape in the 'maze' that was the large facility. I was relieved to hear this, because that meant that he had obviously not read any of our files..._

_Did I forget to mention? The group that had captured us had been studying us _loooong_ before they actually came after us. So they practically knew everything about us._

_But as said, the leader had obviously not been doing his homework lately._

_Sadly, he had planned a punishment for us three. We were kept away from the others for a little while, then..._

* * *

><p>Japan fell silent, looking at his feet.<p>

It was good to see again, after all this time.  
>"Then what?"<p>

"I... I'll explain." Italy piped up.

* * *

><p><em>I don't know the exact details of what happened to them, but a week after they'd been captured, they were returned to us. Although we tried to contact them, we couldn't. We tapped persistantly, but no one replied.<em>

_Several weeks later Canada started tapping, but it was weak. He announced that they had been physically abused and... They could no longer see and that he had only just recovered his hearing. They were also slowly regaining sight... Soon afterwards, Japan started tapping too, but England, because of the shock he had had, stayed silent for a long time._

_We didn't know this at the time, so we assumed he had been roughed up more than Japan and Canada, although this wasn't the case._

_Japan and Canada started explaining what they had discovered and their misfortunes on not finding an exit.  
><em>

_So we devised a new plan, a second 'attempt' on escape, or better said, a second scout party. When we had finally set up a new plan, we picked our scouts again. This time it was Liechtenstein, me and Latvia._

_Latvia failed early on, having escaped only long enough for the alarms to kick in. Liechtenstein and I managed to stay out for a long time, in fact, we both discovered quite a lot of exits... Liechtenstein got caught shortly after having found a few of them._

_I followed a while later._

_... Like... Japan, Canada and England... We... were tortured... During the torture, the boss mentioned that there were too many countries trying to escape for his liking (which hinted that the countries below and above us were also trying to escape), that they needed a way of permanantly blind us or to permanently keep us quiet. He muttered that he didn't mind me or Liechtenstein, since we both didn't show much rebellion, but he complained about how Hungary and several others had refused to give in.  
><em>

_I, Latvia and Liechtenstein were blinded and... Um... The... muscles needed to speak... Um... were cut off...  
><em>

_ When I was returned, I didn't know where I was. Although the cell felt identical to my old one (once I could see again, I also noticed it looked the same), the route which lead me to it was completely different (each country had started learning the routes it had been taking to different rooms)._

_I asked Greece about this, only to discover someone else entirely.  
><em>

_I found out I was now neighbouring Austria and Iraq._

_Austria explained that our captors had moved us all into different cells._

_I was the filled in on who my new neighbours were and slowly felt sadness, especially after having grown fond of my old cell-neighbours. Luckily, Austria comforted me, so it wasn't so bad.  
><em>

_Chad* started to devise a plan with Mexico once the news of being in a different place and surrounded by different people had disappeared._

_I then told them all the information I had._

_Our first priority was to figure out a way for all nations to communicate with each other, other than tapping on walls. Luckily, France, who wasn't neighbouring any of us and wasn't even on the same floor, had already solved the problem. Australia had found a note in his tray of food when breakfast came along. It was written by France and in it, Frace explained that he had seduced several workers into helping us pass messages._

_We were very relieved, because it made things a lot easier (quite a few were also disturbed by this). _

_Now planning an escape route was a lot easier, but we were running out of time._

_Many of us were simply disappearing and we didn't know where and honestly we still don't._

_Then the next thing happened. We started being taken out one by one and returned shortly afterwards. We tried to ask those who had been taken what had happened, but they never replied. Eventually, I too was taken out._

_I was brought to an experimentation lab and was afraid they were going to try and figure out how our healing abilities work again, but to my surprise, all they did was inject a substance into me. _

_At first I didn't understand why. I hadn't got a good look at what they had shot into me, so I prayed it was just water..._

_It wasn't. A couple minutes after having had the serum shot into me, I felt dull ache coming from my chest. I put my hand on my heart, wondering why it ached so badly when the feeling suddenly spread throughout my body._

_I soon figured out what they had done. They had found a way to stop us being... Connected to our landmass and people. I couldn't feel Italians in my blood any more, I didn't feel my city bustling with life in my heart and.. Well... I just felt emptiness._

_I had let a yelp out in surprise at the lack of being Italy (although I was still Italy)._

_I was then taken back to my cell and I understood why everyone before me fell silence. We countries, after all, only very rarely stop feeling our people. And we had never stopped being our landmass before. _

_Most of us were very upset by this, but our connection started coming back a couple hours after the injection._

_Several got to terms with this problem fast and Ukraine announced that she had heard from several guards on the day we were caught, that they had been able to track us through our connection with our landmass and people..._

_She wasn't sure how that worked, but it did. If we were unconnected when we escaped, the people wouldn't be able to track us down and we'd be able to find the other countries with one problem less._

_Shortly after that, we realised we didn't know which countries hadn't been captured and spent a while figuring that out._

_Then we found out what they had found out about us. They knew how to block our memories and also that we, as countries, have two different sets of memories, the historical memories and our personal memories. They were now figuring out ways of permanently harming us..._

_They tested permanent blindness on Japan, England and Canada, inability to speak on Liechtenstein, Belarus and Ukraine._

_And after the blindness, England finally talked about that one room he had found._

_We panicked as a result, the idea of dead nations horrifying us.  
><em>

_We hurriedly finalised our escape plans..._

_A lot of these plans took a very long time to make. Everything had to be explored, every route had to be planned, everyone had their own task to carry out during the escape. We also had to wait until the people controlling us thought we had completely given in and surrendered to them so to speak.  
><em>

_So, because of these different things, we had no idea how much time had gone by by the time we were ready to escape. We just hoped it wasn't too much._

_We then set our escape in motion._

_It started simple similar to how our scouting worked. One nation would escape, the alarms would go off, those still about would also escape. The difference was that those further away from the cells would go to the weaponry rooms (hopefully without getting lost) and arm themselves. Those closer to the cells would let the prisoners out._

_We all had different tasks. My task, for example, was escape. Russia's job was to attack the group holding us prisoner with all that he had. Just as examples._

_France was helping me escape, because I... was admittably a bit scared of escaping by myself and... Kept getting lost...  
><em>

_We both ran upwards, because I had found out that the whole base, apart from the top floor, was underground._

_Then a gas was suddenly released. At first, no one knew what it was, but someone figured out, that it made us forget. At first, no one believed it, but when we started thinking of our earliest personal memories or historical ones, we couldn't remember._

_And then I got shot. I thought it was a bullet, but it wasn't. It was a dart with the syrum which blocks your connection in it._

_"France, I've got that syrum in me!"  
>"Don't worry, that's actually good Italie. It means they won't be able to track you once you esca- Duck!" He then pushed me out of the way and shot the person who had almost shot me again.<br>_

_France was getting rid of most of the people in our way, often shooting in several other directions in order to help other escaping countries. I caught glimpses of fighting nations (such as Russia or Belarus) and other small parties heading upwards to escape.  
><em>

_France soon ran out of bullets, so he stole one of the warden's guns._

_I got shot a few times, but for each bullet that embeded itself in me, France shot ten times and hit the bullseye every time.  
><em>

_We had finally fought our way up to the top level and found an exit with ease, since I'd found quite a lot. The only difficulty we had, was that we were forgetting memories. By the time we were at the exit, we had lost all memories that happened before the second world war and even those were fading away._

_I threw the door open, hoping to escape before completely forgetting everything, shivering... The base was surrounded by snow._

_France urged me to hop away, but then I realised something._

_"I-I can't!"  
>"Of course you can, you idiot!" France snapped back.<em>

_"No, I _really really_ can't!"  
>"Why not!"<em>

_"I- I can't feel the part of me that's a country!" I tried to explain. How do you explain yourself, when you feel the abilities that come with being a nation, such as nation-hopping, disappearing?_

_"What do you mean?" France asked impatiently, looking down the hall._

_"I-I... They've stopped my ability to nation-hop!" France looked at me with disbelief, but then found he suddenly knew what I meant._

_"Merde, that gas did more than stop our memories..." France hissed. "Italie, you're going to have to randomly nation-hop. The gas doesn't take immediate effect, so you should be able to do that still."_

_"B-but... I..." He gave me a stern gaze. "Yes Francia..._"_ I replied. I spun around on my heels, facing away from him and tried to hop. I started running and the snow landscape faded from view.  
><em>

_But it went wrong, the hop. Halfway through it, I lost the ability completely and... I blacked out. _

* * *

><p><em>"<em>I then woke up in Mexico, got a job up here and um... And now I'm here..."  
>"Hai. I woke up in Mexico too, but met Italy as Feliciano several weeks after I was found there."<p>

"I woke up in Cuba."

* * *

><p>"Sir, the countries are just filling the others in on what has happened to them." A spy said into a communicator, cringing when quite a few of the countries burst into a fit of rage, questions and demands.<br>"Anything else?"

"No sir."  
>"Good. Keep an eye on them. I want to know what they're up to at all times."<p>

"Yes si-_"  
>"WHACK<em>!"  
>"Spy 1? Spy 1, what happened?"<p>

_Crunch_. End communication.

* * *

><p>"What the heck do they think they are doing, aru?" China asked himself, his fingers stroking the smooth metal of his wok.<p>

He leaned forwards, examining the three men he had found _spying_ on America. Honestly, these people were complete amateurs.

They were wearing uniforms. Black jacket, black tie, black slacks and a white shirt. Unsure on what to do with the unconcious men, China quickly tied them up to the nearest post, relieved that no one else was around.

He put the wok down and walked over to America's house, ringing the doorbell. Right now he was frustrated, probably due to jetlag or something. Also, discovering spies near a countries house always put a nation in a bad mood (unless the spies were there's and doing it because they were ordered to)

"Hello?"  
>"I can't believe you America aru! Do you know what I just found? A bunch of <em>your<em> people spying on _you aru_!"

"Oh, thank God it's just you." America said relieved, now opening the door properly, while putting a gun he'd been holding into one of his jacket pockets.

"I thought it was someone else..." The American explained. "... Wait, what do you mean, a bunch of _my_ people were spying on _me_?"  
>"Just that aru! I tied them up to the post over there. I think they were listening in on a conversation you must have been having-"<p>

America paled at this information. "They were what?" Germany asked, his head popping out from one of the doors in the hallway. Really? Germany? An eavesdropper in reality? And at _America_'s house? Now that wasn't something China'd been expecting.

Then again, it'd explain why no one picked up the phone at his home.

"Germany, what are you doing here!"  
>"You mean there are some of those damn bastards here?" Romano asked, surprising China further more. Romano <em>and<em> Germany _and_ America at his home?

"What are you-" China began, only to be cut off again.

"We can't assume they're one of _them_ Romano." A Spanish-accented voice scolded, also turning up from behind the door.  
>"What are you all doing here aru!"<p>

"Well, I sort of live here..." America explained himself.  
>"What did you do to them?" A new voice asked.<p>

"I whacked them behind the head and tied them to a post aru. If you'd been listening..." China began, when something in the back of his head went click.

"J-Japan?"

* * *

><p><strong>*Country in Africa for those who don't know.<strong>

**So, now we know what those missing countries have been doing for the past century, although we still don't know much about the organisation that kidnapped them in the first place. **

**Also, what're they gonna do with the other nations and why can't England remember anything? Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers. :3**

**Sorry for the late update, I'll try to update again soon.**

**Review?**_  
><em>


	12. Chapter 11

There was a long, awkward silence between the nations, as China stared in pure shock at Japan, not failing to notice the way Japan was dressed or how different (or lack there-of?) he looked.

"B-b-but..." China finally said, finding himself completely speechless. The countries around them observed him and the Japanese nation, waiting for some sort of reaction. But the two seemed to lockoed in a silent staring competition, both unblinkingly staring at each other, hurt and many other emotions being visible in both sets of eyes.

Then, in a flash, China was standing next to Japan, hugging the shorter man tightly. He didn't say anything. He didn't cry. He just stood there and hugged Japan, as if he would disappear any second now. The countries continued to be quiet, the other three nations (well, technically two and a half) entering the room as well.

China finally let Japan go, who in turn didn't seem that bothered about his private space being invaded. It was perfectly understandable after all. China looked at him unsurely.

Feeling unbelievably uncomfortable now, Japan dared a very, very small (also unsure) smile.

Then China started yelling.  
>"Where the **** were you? Aru!"<p>

* * *

><p>After having calmed the Chinese man down and locked the spies in the basement, the countries were now sitting around the coffee table in America's home, now going into different details.<p>

"Who are they?" America asked.  
>"They are a group of people from all over the world, that discovered us and took an interest. At least, that was how it was in the beginning. I thinks it's changed to using different nabtilities for their own gain." Canada explained.<p>

"Natilities?"  
>"Oh sorry... You wouldn't be familiar with those kinda words... Nabtilities are the abilities that nations possess. So, like nation-hopping, our ability to heal at fast rates or to survive a fatal injury and stuff like that. It's a good thing they never caught you really... Otherwise they'd be trying to crack superstrength or something by now... Or would have cracked it..."<p>

"Do they have a name?"  
>"Yes. HCS. I'm not sure what it stands for though."<p>

"Ve... I think they're located at the South Pole." Italy commented, pleased he remembered something.

"How many escaped?"  
>"We don't know, but that's not so important. The biggest goal we have right now, is to infiltrate the HCS and free the other captured countries. (<em>And bring the HCS to justice)<em>"

"Ve~ So true."  
>"I wouldn't mind kicking their damned asses." Romano commented, enjoying the idea of causing the HCS, as they were now known, ten times the amount of grief they had inflicted upon the countries, particularely Italy.<p>

"How can they stop us being connected to our countries?"  
>"Erm..." Canada replied. None of the three present with memories were sure. It wasn't like they had gone through their own files before escaping.<p>

"There are a lot of open questions, I admit, but they can be answered later, at an appropriate time. The whole point of us escaping, was that we call for help. All we have to do now is get the goverments of the world to attack them and take over the base." Japan inturrupted, sighing with relief that this whole ordeal would have an end soon (or should anyway).

"Erm... Japan aru? You _do_ know it's not that simple, right?"  
>"What do you mean?" Canada asked. The countries gave him a puzzled look. Canada frowned, although he also had to bite back a smile. It'd been a <em>very<em> long time since this happened.

"I'm Canada." He said softly, frowning.  
>"Aahh.."<p>

"What'd you say?"  
>"I asked 'What do you mean'?"<p>

"He means that... Well, you guys know you've been gone a _really, really_ long time right?" America asked. England, Canada, Italy and Japan all nodded in agreement.

"Well, after all my false leads, they stopped listening to us..."  
>"And most countries forgot what we are. They don't know we exist any more."<p>

"What? But what about the agencies made specifically to protect _us_?" Canada demanded, although it came out as a soft question. _Damn my soft voice..._ Canada thought silently. Germany sighed.

"They were closed down. After twenty years of searching and not finding you, they gave up. They also realised that although you guys were missing, the country in question seemed to be doing fine. So the groups disbanded and the employees either joined a still running agency or got an entirely new job."

"Oh." Japan, Italy and Canada said in unison. England said nothing, simply staring off into space as he tried to fit the new information into his head. Man, he felt so out of place here!

"Besides, my government doesn't trust a single thing I say. They couldn't care less for me right now... They consider me a nuisance with no practical use." Spain said uncharacteristically sad, leaning back into the chair. The other countries muttered an agreement, shocking them.

How could they have become unimportant? Before humans even knew what they _were_, heck, before _they _knew what they were, they'd always been important!

There was a (to some awkward) silence, as each thought deeply about what the other had said. They never noticed that small glint flash across America's eyes, the same way they did when he had actually gotten an idea that really _was_ brilliant.

"Well, there's always more plausability in masses. We need to get the other guys to help us out!" He suddenly spoke up, inturrupting the others' thought process.  
>"Ah yes, the other countries that avoided getting caught." Japan commented, thinking he could follow what America was about to suggest.<p>

"Also, we've got some missing nations now! We can _force_ our bosses to believe us, now that we know with a hundred percent certainty that they're the real deal!"  
>"... He's damn right. I think I can sense Italy."<br>"Ve~ I can sense you too Romano!" Italy replied happily, hugging his brother tightly, even more happy to find his brother not retaliating by means of either insult or simply pushing the younger brother off his persona.

Several personifications looked at America thoughtfully. The look they gave America was something along the lines of _He actually said something intelligent._ (something England should also be thinking really, but sadly wasn't, since he didn't remember for reasons still mostly unknown.)

"... So what is the plan?" Germany asked, from where he was sitting, next to Italy.

"It's simple! We organise an emergency world meeting for nations only!"

* * *

><p>Germany was sitting next to America and Japan, in front of himself, the two spies that were still unconcoius, having been knocked out by China's wok.<p>

Why was he sitting next to America and Japan, waiting for the two spies to wake up? Well, apparently, America really _wasn't _as obnoxious as he sometimes seemed. The united states had used 'getting the other countries up to speeds' as a cover.

He had suggested China go to the UK with England, since maybe all England needed, to reconnect with his country (and possibly remember), was to be in it. Although both nations had been hesitant (China most likely because he was tired beyond belief), they eventually agreed.

He then got Canada to go with Spain to South America (Romano seemed to want to come too, but then stuck to his twin), Romano and Italy went to the Middle-east and Africa, while America would presumably take over Australia.

It seemed like a logical plan, all went with it.

Then America took both Japan and Germany to the basement, were the two spies sat, as mentioned before, unconcious.

America had then begun to explain himself. "Guys... Our bosses won't believe us, whether or not we show them the missing nations... Remember the last lead I'd found ten years back, the one that made me give up hope finally? OK Japan, you wouldn't know, but you do Germany... I'll explain Japan... That last red herring'd been not only my last lead, but also the first time no one else supported me. _At all_. Not even Tony supported me in it.*

So I searched for them by myself... While checking out this false lead, I also decided to look through my history with other nations, only to discover all documents... Gone. I asked my boss about it and he said there'd never been any docs there. I was shocked and went home baffled, cause you know, fifty years ago, the room with the docs was practically bursting with docs and stuff.

Then I decided that the files musta been thrown away, no one needing them any more, so I went home to look through times long past, only to find all the photos and stuff*, from before the nations went missing, missing, apart form the ones from recent. I had no idea how long they musta been missing, but it had to be a while, cause everything left had a least a handful of dust on it. I then checked everyone elses stuff...

Yeah Germany, there _was_ a reason I broke into your house at midnight ten years ago, OK? So basically, I looked for any info, any pictures, _anything_ of the missing nations, but they'd all _disappeared. _I'm assuming this HCS musta stolen it now. At the time I didn't know, so I asked all the representatives of the countries, but they all asked me what the heck I was talking about and who I thought I was. When I said the USA, they... sent me to a mental hospital. My government agency got me out a couple days later."

Germany stared at the nation in disbelief, not sure on how to react to the news; Japan also seemed surprised.

"So, you are basically saying, that the governments of missing countries won't believe us, because they have forgotten us and those _with_ governments who haven't forgotten..."  
>"... Won't listen because of the wild goose chases of the past and the fact we have <em>no proof<em> that Japan, England and Italy are countries, yeah."

"Then what do we do?" Japan asked.  
>"It means we can only trust our own governments, others will be everything but helpful. But we also need to prove that there <em>are<em> other countries out there and also that they're being held hostage. And the only way to prove that, is to get those files back... And if these guys are scientists studying... us... Then I'm pretty sure they've kept them locked up somewhere, in HCS HQ."

"Why did you hold us back?" Germany asked curiously, having not missed the fact that America didn't seem pleased to realise he had Japan in their group when he divided them up.  
>"... I uh... I needed Back-up..." Germany almost face-palmed and America had a soft pink on his cheeks as he looked away in embarassment. Japan merely smiled, having forgotten what young nations could be like.<p>

"So what's the plan?" America didn't respond, thinking it over himself.

"Well, we know the HCS base is located somewhere in the South Pole, but we need confirmation and rough coordinates. Which is why we're waiting for those two spies to wake up.** Once we have the coordinates, we can fly over (since I'm a pilot and everything***). We would have to land (some how) and find the files, then leave. By then everyone else should have visited the remaining nations so..."

"We exchange the things we've collected, show it to our bosses and leave the liberation of the others to our governments."  
>"Yup! That's the plan!"<p>

Germany frowned. It was an awfully sketchy plan, bound to go horribly, horribly wrong in all possible ways. But, with not much choice, he agreed. He noticed that Japan also seemed hesitant, probably having the same kind of thoughts as Germany on America's plan, but, much like him, not having much choice in the matter.

"Great! I'll remove the ear plugs and slap those spies awake!" America said, grinning with his stupid grin.  
>"Isn't that a bit unheroic America-san?" Japan teased uncharacteristically, smirking (which was also uncharactersitic). America fell silent, his smile disappearing, but soon returning in an even bigger grin.<p>

"Germany! You used to torture people all the time! How about you wake them up?"

Again, Germany almost face-palmed, but instead rubbed his temples tiredly. _And I used to think _Italy_ was bad..._

* * *

><p>The spy groaned, as he slowly became concious again.<p>

What had happened? He couldn't really remember any more. One moment he was talking to his boss, the next he only saw black... He noted that he seemed to be tied to a chair, so he immediately started listening, only to find he was unable to hear anything.

Should he dare to open his eyes?  
>No. That'd be plain stupid.<p>

Sadly, human curiosity got the better of him and he dared a peak, examining his surroundings. He didn't lift his head, although he'd probably seen more if he did. He noted that he really _was_ tied to a chair and from the flooring, either in a basement or garage.

He wished he could sigh, but decided against it. He couldn't hear anything, but that didn't mean he was alone. He also noticed that there seemed to be something stuffed into his ears.

Ah. Earplugs. Of course.

Then, in the most painful way possible, the Earplugs were yanked out of his ears. He tensed a bit, but quickly relaxed, hoping to fool his captor/s into thinking he was still unconcious. "Haha, dude, you're not fooling anyone!" An American voice boomed... Oh crap.

Nervously, the spy looked up and was able to make many different notes. One: He was deffinitely locked in a basement. Two: His spy training must have been rubbish to have been caught so easily. Three: His partner in crime (literally) was tied back to back with him, on another chair. Four: There were three nations (yeah, he knew what countries looked like) present, all probably _very, very_ angry.

He couldn't refrain from gulping, as he stared nervously at the three before him. Two of them pulled up some more chairs and sat down, as (presumably) America woke his comerade up, just as 'softly' as he'd taken out his earplugs.

"Also...*" Deffinitely Germany started, crossing his legs and folding his arms, his appearance intimidating the spy. " We have some questions for you..." He started, the spy paling considerably.

* * *

><p>Liechtenstein sat alone in a locked room, frowning. Although they were supposed to take her to AB2 immediately, for reasons unknown, they were delaying it. She sighed, supposing she should be relieved to know that what ever crime-organisation the HCS had hired were complete amateurs, but it still made her frown.<p>

After all, she liked to think that she had picked up a few things from being locked up in a cell for almost a century and that she should be able to escape easily from... Well, amateurs... She sighed. England was probably worried about her. She remembered the year she had spent as a human.

It had been quite... Interesting. To say the least. She had had human friends and had called England her 'brother' (but very rarely and usually only with introductions... He just wasn't her brother, and some how, even without her memories or even feelings, she remembered this)

Her thoughts slowly went through her 'human' history as Lilli Kirkland (boy, Switzerland would be glad to hear that! Maybe this information should stay between her and England...), eventually drifting to how she ended up in Liechtenstein.

She remembered falling unconcious after _some how_ ending up at America's front door and for who knows what reasons, ringing the doorbell (or did she knock?, she wasn't sure.)

She looked around the place again. It felt like there was an obvious way out of here, but she just didn't know. Her eyes darted up when she heard a loud crash, immediately jumping to her feet.

"Liechtenstein!" A hesitant voice half shouted, half asked. "Liechtenstein?" The voice repeated.  
>"Who are you?" She yelled back, wondering why one of her captors suddenly started talking to her.<p>

"Uh... I'm Lukas Friedli er... Ma'am?" The voice replied in German.

"..." Liechtenstein chose not to reply. However, she did get up and walk over to the place she'd heard the voice coming from. Friedli hesitantly continued.

"My great Grandfather was part of the Swiss Guard*! So was my grandad and erm..." Liechtenstein felt her eyes widen in surprise. That wasn't expected. Then again, it wasn't like the Swiss Guard had disbanded or anything, right?

"Are you going to help me out?" She asked quietly.  
>"Yes ma'am! I'll just get the guys, I think they found someone with keys!" Friedli continued (in German), walking away.<p>

Liechtenstein smiled, but then slowly frowned. Not only was Switzerland's training nagging at her not to trust strangers (even if they're supposed to protect you, cause it's their job), but she felt that she was escaping the HCS was just a bit _too_ easy...

Then again, it might not have been so easy for the Swiss Guard... Smiling again, Liechtenstein sat back on the floor, looking around herself (she wasn't sure where the door was), waiting to be freed silently.

Yet again, her mind started drifting back into the past, as she waited for her rescuers to return...

* * *

><p><strong>* This explains why America is on bad terms with the South Americans and Oceanian(?)s. They kept supporting America's crazy leads, until they couldn't bare it and ended up only hurting. Naturally, they took out all their hurt on America and won't even speak to him now.<br>**

*** 'Stuff' being for example that toy soldier set England gave little America.  
>** Actually, I think there were originally three spies... Never mind. :3<br>*** I'm pretty sure Germany and Japan can fly too, but when someone says "Pilot" in Hetalia, I immediately think of America.  
>* Also (German) = So...<br>* I haven't ever actually seen a Swiss Guard before, but they do exist! They serve as guards and since the secret agencies in this story kind of 'guard' their nation (keep them outta trouble as best as they can), I thought they'd be great.**

**I er... Am REALLY sorry about the really late update... Er.. The next chapter will sadly probably take just as long to upload. Suffering from writers block and plot hole-appearances...**

**Still, aside from the writers block, I hope this chapter was OKish (i personally think it was rubbish, but yeeeaaah...)  
><strong>


	13. Chapter 12

"_Liechtenstein, _stay _ducked!" Switzerland hissed softly in her ear, his eyes portraying protectiveness and worry. Liechtenstein gulped, nodding. Gunshots were ringing out from seemingly every direction and they were running low on ammunition._

_She was scared. Switzerland sighed, giving his younger sister a one-armed hug. "Don't worry, I'll get you out, if it's the last thing I do." He whispered softly, causing Liechtenstein to stiffen a bit. She didn't want her Bruder to die trying to keep her safe!_

_Ignoring Liechtenstein stiffening up, Switzerland decided to dare a peak over the overturned table, letting his head appear above it. Quickly, he sat down again, reloading his guns.  
><em>

_Liechtenstein curiosly tapped on his shoulders, looking at him with worry, asking silently "What's the matter?" Switzerland frowned._

_"We've gone and gotten lost... And those dam- Er... Those humans are blocking our way back... Assuming going in that direction's the correct way..." He muttered, holding the two machine guns somewhat closer to his body. Again, he looked out, but this time he fired a few shots, grinning when the bullets hit their targets._

_He quickly dropped the grin, not wanting Liechtenstein to think he was pyschotic or trigger-happy. Forelornly, Switzerland looked around, in search for a way out. He stared down the hall, knowing that there was no way the two could run down it without being shot down._

_"Liechtenstein, you're going to have to be brave for me..." Switzerland suddenly announced, holding his sister's hands comfortingly. Liechtenstein looked back nervously, but nodded._

_"I want you to run to the stairs and then run straight up. I'm afraid I won't be able to help you escape..." He said. Liechtenstein blinked in surprise, before Switzerland's words finally settled in. She frowned. No way was she leaving Switzerland behind! If he stayed here, he'd be hurt!_

_"This is no time to act like this Liechtenstein." Switzerland said sternly, having guessed what the younger nation was thinking._

_"As much as I'd like to escape with you (and not get hurt), my mission was just to help you out as far as possible. If I manage to escape with you... It's just a bonus, so to say. You need to concentrate on your own mission Liechti." He said, caressing her cheek tenderly. _

_She frowned, but leaned into his hand, as if to say "OK, OK, I agree with you. Even though it's still stupid."  
><em>

_"I guess this is goodbye for now then..." Liechtenstein nodded, hugging Switzerland tightly, not at all pleased with the idea.  
><em>

_"On my count, OK?" Again she nodded affirmatively.  
><em>

_"3... 2... 1..." He counted down. He then jumped out and started firing like a madman. Liechtenstein quickly ran down the halls, praying for no bullet to hit her. She threw the door to the stairs open and rushed up them._

_She paused momentairily, turning back, wondering if she should go back to help Switzerland, when he called "Run!" Immediately, she jolted up the stairs, deciding not to think about how she was currently abandoning her brother.  
><em>

_As she rushed up, she spotted gunfire higher up. Knowing that there was fighting just a few floors above her, she quickly left the stairs. She ran down the hall, it being surprisingly empty. She didn't have any weapons with her... Where were some weapons again?_

_She opened a door and entered. There was a loaded gun lying conveniently on the desk. She sighed, closing the door and sat down, taking the gun. Although she was supposed to try to escape, she wanted to take a moments break. She was still upset with/about Switzerland and she was very worried about him right now.  
><em>

_She jolted, looking up when she heard the door open. She heard someone muttering as well._

_"Bloody hell, where is that git..." England muttered, using a cane he'd found to find out where he was. He had been experimented on recently and the effects of blindness still hadn't worn off (unfortunately)._

_He was supposed to escape with help from Scotland, but the idiot had pretty much done the same thing as Switzerland had earlier (although neither England, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or Scotland know this)._

_Liechtenstein walked up to him, wishing she could speak. He heard her and straightened up.  
>"Who's there?" He demanded. Liechtenstein quickly grabbed his hand and patted it comfortingly. <em>

_"Oh, it's another nation..." England assumed, knowing that someone working for the HCS wouldn't have been so gentle. "Erm... Who?" Liechtenstein frowned. She was unable to speak... How was she supposed to talk to him?_

_Then she remembered. Morse code, DUH! She started tapping on his hand._

_"L. I. E. C. H." England voiced, having quickly understood she was morsing._

_"Oh, it's _you_ Liechtenstein. Right, of course you can't tell me... Where's Switzerland? Isn't he with you?" England asked, concerned about the neutral country. Liechtenstein tapped "No here." England sighed._

_"I've lost the guy supposed to be helping me outta here too. He's somewhere a couple levels downwards and I can't get very far blind... Well, I'm sure you know some exits..." He suggested nervously. He wasn't comfortable with asking a child (no matter who old said person really was or.. How he treated some colonies in the past...) to do something dangerous and without any security, but she seemed to agree, after patting his back comfortingly._

_She, much like England, felt uncomfortable with the suggestion, but what else could they do? Everything was in chaos, and it'd be hard to tag onto a group that isn't busy fulfilling their own duties..._

_The two left the room, Liechtenstein had a firm hold on England's wrist, as they started looking for a way out.  
><em>

_Luckily, the floor they were on was empty, as if abandoned. She remembered finding an exit nearby, and since barely anyone was around, it was a good idea to take it. Then they heard it. Footsteps._

_She quickly pulled herself and England into the nearest room._

_It was an office. "Who is it?" He whispered to Liechtenstein. "N for Nation, anything else for HCS." She tapped on his hand once. HCS. England frowned and closed the door.  
>"Find somewhere to hide." He whispered. <em>

_She tugged at his hand, as she lead him to a large desk. They hid underneath it. They listened, as the footsteps became fainter again. Obviously, they weren't searching for them. The two got out of their hiding place after they were sure the coast was clear._

_"Well, let's carry on." England said, feeling Liechtestein tugging at his wrist again. The two ran upstairs and that's when things started getting bumpy._

Liechtenstein sighed, subconciously rubbing the back of her head. She had gotten a concussion while escaping. She and England had run straight into a large group of HCS soldiers (or something similar) and that group had attacked without hesitation.

_Liechtenstein put up a good fight with the shot gun she found at first, especially since it was hard not to hit anyone (though, to this day, she still heavily regrets spilling blood. It haunts her and will probably never stop), but they had a problem. When an HCS soldier shot at them, nothing could protect them. There weren't any furnitures around to overturn and use for protection and only one of them was fighting (Though England is a good fighter, blinded, he's next to useless)._

_And then that stupid gas started being released. Luckily, Russia's team found them, having heard the gunfire. Sadly, by the time he had reached them, the damage had already been done. They'd been injured by quite a few bullets already._

_England could still walk, but Liechtenstein had had a harsh bash to her head, when one of the soldiers threw her against the wall (the soldier was stupid enough to try and get close and was lucky that Liechtenstein's ability to heal fast stopped right at the moment he gave her the blow and that Switzerland wasn't around). The concussion made her unable to stand, let alone run._

_Russia had gotten Belarus and Estonia to carry her, while he supported England. They ran outside to the nearest exit and Russia put England down (no one knew quite how, but at some point England ended up getting picked up by the taller nation...) and handed Liechtenstein to him, telling him to nation-hop away before that ability disappeared too._

_England had been about to hop right there and then, but another HCS troop found them and started shooting them. Though the bullets miraculously missed Russia, Belarus and Estonia, it unluckily hit England and herself. She saw a dart peaking out of her hand, which hurt a lot. She immediately tried to pull it out, although that only ended up with having a small injury on her hand, that was bleeding a lot._

_Everything seemed to move in slow-motion after she and England had been shot with... Something... She couldn't tell what, she was too out of it to realise. But then they were shot at again, this time the darts only hitting England. He lost balance and toppled off the base..._

_It seemed that they had found an exit that lead to a steap hill. Russia had let out a furious cry and Liechtenstein, some how in the panic she felt while freefalling to the ground beneath her, managed to be thankful, that she wasn't the one having to deal with Russia's anger._

She wasn't quite sure what happened after that. Well, she remembered waking up briefly in something smelly (later revealed to be a large bin), but otherwise, nothing. She sighed, her head resting on her knees.

She hoped Switzerland was OK... How were those who didn't escape anyway? What had happened to them? Had they all been killed?

No, Switzerland told her that the HCS was made of a bunch of scientists, so they would keep some of the... "samples" alive...

She sighed. She missed her Bruder so much...

* * *

><p>"We have evacuated the facility as best we could, sir!"<br>"Good, have the spies checked in?"

"No sir. We lost contact with those in Liechtenstein just a few moments ago and those in the USA still haven't responded."  
>"They've been caught then. I knew I couldn't trust that stupid group. ... Destroy the top two floors of AB1. Those spies are going to spill everything they know, including where we are."<p>

"B-but sir! We've only got the most valuable information, we haven't got everything!"  
>"I'd rather lose that information than risk getting caught. Do as I say!"<p>

"Y-yes sir!"

* * *

><p>"Yo, Robinson!" America called out, waving to a pilot by the name of Robinson. He turned around, surprised.<p>

"Oh, hello Mr. Jones, sir! I wasn't expecting you to show up... Ever again..." Robinson greeted, as he stopped working on a plane he was currently repairing. He was a rich man, his (expensive) hobby being aeroplanes. He had a whole private collection and after America found out, he regularely visited him (sort of).

"What do you want?" He asked demandingly, cleaning his hands, as he came over to greet the fellow American, who was accompanied by an Asian man (Chinese? Korean?*) and a... Um... Well, somewhat scary, tall blonde man.

"Aw~, don't be like that. Can't I just visit a friend once in a while?"  
>"... You haven't visited me in a little over a decade... Strange, you haven't aged much..."<p>

"OK, OK, I admit it... I kinda hoped you could lend me a plane?"  
>"... A plane?"<p>

"Well, yeah..."  
>"What sort of plane?" He asked, rubbing his head.<p>

"Oh, you know, a normal one. Capable of flying to the artic and back without trouble..."  
>"Look Jones, you can't just simply stop even <em>talking<em> to me for ten years, then turn up ten years later and demand I give you a plane!"  
>"But I'm not demanding! I'm asking, just like a friend would!"<p>

"Last I checked, friends don't abandon you after a year."  
>"Bitte, we need the aeroplane... For some very special research." The tall blonde man begged, interrupting the American's conversation. However, his plea came out more like a demand and a very scary one at that.<p>

Robinson, being half Italian, felt his skin jump into the air, as he took a step back.  
>"Fine, fine! Take anything you need!" He cried, as he cowered.<p>

"Wow... I didn't know American's could be that generous too." Germany commented, smiling. Japan sighed, deciding that no matter _which_ century, Western countries would not only always be a mystery to him, but also weird.

* * *

><p>Liechtenstein smiled at the people around her. It was strange... Some of the people were citizens of Vaduz, most were part of the Swiss Guard that still thought that personifications of countries existed.<p>

They had rescued her from the HCS, then gotten her cleaned and fed and now it was evening. She knew she should leave, but this was the first time humans... No, her own _people_ cared for her in a long time and it was very, very pleasant.

A nation isn't usually cared for by their people, so this was a pleasant (and welcomed) change. Also, for the first time in an endlessly long time, she felt _safe_. And not just safe, but _really_ safe. She was sharing a room with two Swiss Guards, who noticed that she felt like the HCS would come and... Well, kidnap her again.

She hadn't said much since the rescue (that's roughly a century late, but better late than never, huh?), most of the time they just comforted her and spoke to her softly.

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. She was now wearing some PJ's that someone had kindly provided. She was more than grateful and she quietly felt what it was like to be a nation again. A whole year of not feeling... This was horrible and painful.

Now she was more or less safe and secure... She gently bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows. She felt guilt at feeling so.. _Happy_ while people she cared for were who knows where, probably being abused if not already dead.

She then felt someone pat her hand. She looked up into the caring eyes of Lukas Friedli, the guy who found her. "Relax Miss Liechtenstein. Everything'll be sorted out tomorrow. We need you to get a goodnight's sleep so you can help us tomorrow though, OK?" He said, as if talking to a child.

She smiled back politely, closing her eyes as she relaxed into the large bed. If Friedli knew she could very well live without a night's sleep... But since they obviously don't know nearly as much as they should about nations, she just agreed to it.

She thought it was funny, how they treated her as if she really was the age she appeared. She was far older than them, yet they still treated her like a little girl. Then again, it sort of reminded her of Switzerland, so it was OK.

Sighing deeply, Liechtenstein finally drifted to sleep, as she hoped to sort this whole mess out in the morning.

* * *

><p>China, in summary, was feeling absolutely crappy. He had no idea what time it was or where he was and quite frankly, he didn't care.<p>

All he knew, was that he was feeling absolutely crappy and was suffering from severe jet-lag. He slept a bit on the plane, but now he was absolutely knocked out from journeying from China to the USA and_ then_ to the UK.

... Wait, he went to the UK, but he hadn't stepped inside that country in years...

Why'd he go there then? ...

He cracked open an eye to see England lying on a single bed opposite him, sleeping deeply, a relaxed expression on his face.

Ah yes, he returned to the UK in hopes of restoring England back to his "normal" self. How could he have forgotten something so important? _I hate jetlag... _China thought in his mind (naturally in Chinese) and looked at the clock. It claimed that it was 9 a.m.

But he still felt so tired... When had they arrived anyway? How much sleep had he gotten? China frowned, deciding that he must have been too out of it to remember. It was best if he got up and got a nice, strong espresso...

Coffee... Espresso coffee... Thingy... He was too tired to give coffee-types the right names and use them currectly. Exhausted, China forced himself out of bed, dragging himself to a kettle that the hotel he and England were staying in provided.

He made the coffee, then decided that maybe he should make some tea for England. His generous side agreed and he started making tea as well. England started stirring as the kettle boiled and when the tea was finally made, England some how managed to end up standing next to China, fully-dressed, waiting for the tea to be handed to him.

"Cheers." He said, as he took the cup and went to sit down on his bed that hadn't been made a couple seconds ago, but now was... English sure are weird when it comes to tea...

China sat down on his own bed after making it, sipping the strong cup of coffee. England turned the TV on, watching English (well, actually, British) people for the first time in a long time, that meant him absolutely no harm.

After both finished their hot drinks, China decided that they needed to tour London, although (much to China's disappointment) not as tourists, but as... _visiters_.**

They both left the hotel, England surprised at how... Not-cold the weather was in England. Just windy.

"You've gotten used to colder temperatures then?"  
>"Well, yeah... But I prefer this weather. It's more pleasant than those below-zeros in Northern USA."*** China nodded, as they trod down the streets of London.<p>

"Just tell me when you think you recognise something." He told England, as they walked past Buckingham Palace.

* * *

><p><strong>*This is sort of referring to how people can be around foreigners. You know, when they see you and assume you're from some place you <em>aren't<em> from (Like someone assuming a Canadian is from the USA or assuming someone from China is Japanese) and then ask you for information and traditions about either your own country or the one they think you come from. It's really annoying when you grew up with _their _cultures, rather than your own ones. (although it's not like they mean to annoy us).  
>**Have you ever gone to a different city within your country (duh you have). Well, when you're visiting a different city-within-your-country for a day, you're not really a tourist... Just a visiter, you know what I mean?<br>*** A - temperature-wise probably completely wrong statement, but whatever, it works...  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. I'm a terrible updater. For a while, it was cause of writers-block, not it's not just that, but also laziness and... well... I'm planning the story I'll be writing after this is finished and I got a bit caught up in it... TT^TT<strong>

**Oh yeah, before I forget, I recently reread the whole story and realised I never thanked you guys for the reviews, favouriting and subscribing, so here it comes:**

**Thank you littlemsbookworm, iii, maple lover, HonestLiar33, TheBadlyNamedUser, CopperMinted, Blue Wallpaper, NONAMESWEREAVAILABLE, Aunsa, alexdemyx, LunesWraith, Star Anise, , Thebigfoot021, Blah blah blah and MissAleatory for reviewing throughout the chapters! They encouraged me and in my moments of despair (coughcoughwritersblockcough) made me continue writing (to an extent...).**

**Also, thank you everyone who has either subscribed or favourited (or bothed) this fanfiction. It's amazing how many did it~.  
><strong>

**Question: What do YOU think HCS stands for?  
><strong>

**Review plz! (and sorry about updates and thank you for review :3)(and sorry if this chappie's not so good. I only reread it once)  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 13

_"Just tell me when you recognise something._"  
>"Uh... China, in case you've forgotten, I can't see anything. I'm blind, remember?" England asked. China shrugged in response, not that England could see this.<p>

"Sorry, I forgot aru." China replied.  
>"So, what exactly are we going to do?"<p>

"I thought maybe we could visit your house..." China explained, thinking. "I'm not quite sure what your government did with your stuff though, so I don't know if it will still be there aru."

"Ah... My old home, huh?" England asked, frowning. The idea of having a home overseas and not having known it existed was weird.

It was like moving house when you were merely a baby, then being told that that house, which you didn't even know existed, since you don't remember it, still belonged to you several decades later.

The two walked in silence, China leading the way, talking about different things in order to make sure England was able to follow him.

Sadly, the tactic stopped working, as England's mind drifted in its thoughts, wandering from the still missing Lilli that everyone had forgotten to vivid dreams that still made no sense (not that he ever expected them too).

"... China?" England asked, coming out of his thoughts when he realised something. "China?" He called out louder, although hesitantly, since there were a lot of people around.

"Damn... I've gotten lost..." England muttered, tapping around, unsure on what to do.

_You're blind in a city you don't know and your only guide has disappeared. Way to go England._

* * *

><p>"According to these coordinates, the base should be right here..." Japan muttered, pointing downwards onto the ground. Not far away was the plane they had borrowed; the antartic wind blew strongly on their faces.<p>

"I don't see it!" America commented, looking at the cold, solid water beneath his feet. "And why's the antartic so freaking cold?" He whispered, barely audible. What he did for others sometimes, really!

"I doubt those spies were lying when they gave us the coordinates." Germany commented, remembering how terrified they had looked when America suggested Germany torture information out of them.

They had sung like canaries, a real bunch of spies you could be ashamed of. It made all three nations present wonder how they hadn't been able to find the missing countries with people like these running the HCS...

Maybe it was just a horrible bit of rotten luck that caused the HCS to keep themselves secret for so long.

"It's sure strange that nothing's here..." Japan continued after a pause, in which each nation shivered from the cold.

"It's not that weird. This is antartica. The only thing you'll find here are penguins..." Germany muttered. Japan nodded, agreeing with him.  
>"They must have lied then..." America muttered, looking at the icy wasteland.<p>

America blinked. Did... Did he just see something flashing out from the snow?

"What's that?" He thought out loud, getting his two fellow nations to listen to him.

He was pretty sure he had seen something shining at him. He walked in the vague direction he'd seen it come from. The glinting speck became an object, which became a piece of burnt rubble.

It looked like a piece of wall and from what he could tell, it couldn't have been lying here for too long.

"What have you found?" Japan asked, catching up with the younger nation. Not answering, America got down on one knee to examine the piece of rubbel more closely. Was that burnt writing on it? He pushed the layer of snow off of it to get a better look.

"HCS!" America exclaimed, picking up the large piece of metal and waving it around as if it were a flag.

"They blew their base up!" He concluded.

"What?" Both Germany and Japan asked, finally reaching him.  
>"But why would they do that?" Japan asked nervously.<p>

"Dunno, they probably didn't want us to find them."  
>"... What will we do now?"<p>

America placed the piece on the floor and thought for a bit, Germany and Japan looking at him expectantly.

"Maybe everything's just underground!" America suddenly said brightly. "We could dig until we find something!" He suggested, the idea of an underground being very likely to him.

Japan and Germany both sighed.  
>"I guess it wouldn't harm..." Japan muttered, knowing that it'd be a while before the other countries realised that they weren't looking up nations that hadn't gone missing.<p>

"Ja, I mean, we did come all this way... It'd take a while though..." Germany commented. America grinned and ran to the plane, hurriedly rushing back with a bunch of shovels.

"Well, we better start digging then!" He said happily, ignoring the freezing cold around him.

* * *

><p>China still hadn't realised he had lost England. To be frank, he had forgotten everything around him. His mouth was slightly unhung, as he watched three missing nations standing in front of him, not really noticing him.<p>

It had taken a while for him to realise who it was, but it finally clicked. In front of him stood Prussia, Hungary and Austria.* The reason why he had probably not recognised the three, was that they stood together, without there being a hostile atmosphere around them.

Hungary _did_ look about ready to hit Prussia, but not ready to hit him with a large frying pan. Austria didn't seem to mind Prussia teasing him either or that Prussia seemed to characteristically go on about himself being awesome.

He stood there, staring at the three in utter disbelief.

He had never thought that the three could stand together for once without one of them ending up fighting the other using either banter or fists.

Well, then again, he hadn't expected the nations to reappear or for some to be disabled (for reasons more or less explained now).

"..." China opened his mouth to call out to the three as they slowly left the market place, but found no words came out. He attempted to speak several times, but finally gave up, rushing to the three and placing a hand on Prussia's shoulder.

Prussia looked behind himself surprised with the tiniest of frowns on his face.

"What is it dude?" Prussia asked puzzled. Now that China was standing next to them, he realised he had no idea what to do or say once contact was made.

How had America done it with England again?

"Er..." China started, unsure. Hungary looked curiously at China, walking over.  
>"Did you want something?" She asked softly.<p>

"Er... H-have you seen my friend? H-he was right behind me when he disappeared aru!" China thought up.

"Well, what does your friend look like?" Austria asked impatiently, obviously wanting to be somewhere else.

"Er... H-he's blonde and has large green eyes and he's blind, so he has a white cane aru..." China gabbled, unsure. He then realised that England really was missing.

Where had the Brit disappeared?

"Please tell me you've seen him! He's a tourist here and blind and without me, he's completely lost aru!" China asked after a while, having had the realisation dawn on him.

"That's terrible! Roderich, do you think we could just help him quickly?" Hungary asked Austria, looking over to him.

Austria frowned, about to say no, but seeing her pleading face, he decided to shrug.

"Fine."  
>"So what's his name?"<p>

"It's... Arthur Kirkland. He reacts to England more though, it's his nickname, you see aru..." China made up.  
>"England, eh? Weird nickname."<p>

"Yeah, it's a long story on how he got it aru." China said, smiling. "Thank you for helping me look for him aru."  
>"Say nothing of it, it's just what awesome people do!" Prussia exclaimed. "Well, people not quite as awesome as me, but still awesome!"<p>

* * *

><p>Completely lost England somehow ended up in a secluded area of London, alone by himself. From what he heard, he probably entered a park by mistake. Not far away he could hear children playing with each other.<p>

Sighing, England tapped along the pavement, until he found a bench, falling into it. What was he to do now? He didn't even remember the name of the hotel he was staying at! How was he supposed to get back to China?

Feeling lost, England tried remembering which route he and China had taken until he'd gotten lost, but soon realised he no longer remembered. He decided to calm down, his panicked mind unable to focus.

He listened to those children playing nearby.  
>"Nuh uh, <em>I<em> have the fairy queen in my hands!" One of the young girls squabbled with another.

"No, I have!" The other one insisted.  
>"Nuh uh!"<p>

"Well why don't you ask _my_ fairy if she's the queen or not?" The other argued.

England smiled, thinking the fight between the two girls a bit amusing. It was a really silly thing to squabble about, but for reasons beyond him, this calmed him down.

"OK, I _will_ ask her. Hey, are you the fairy queen?" The girl asked.  
>"No and neither is she, but we feel very honoured to be claimed as such." A finer voice commented. England's head shot up. Did he just hear another voice? Nah, probably just an adult playing with them... But no adlut fits in a childs hand!<p>

Then it must have been his imagination.  
>"You mean you're not? But you're so colourful, just like a rainbow!" The girls both complained.<p>

There was a high pitched giggle. England's eyes widened. No, he _had_ to be imagining that!

"Heather! Susanna! Come on dears, we've got to go now!"  
>"Do we have to?" Both girls asked.<p>

"Yes! Come on now."  
>"Yes mummy." Both said, as they pattered off.<p>

One of them stopped running briefly and whispered "We'll come back to play again soon! Bye!" and then ran off. He then heard some excited chattering coming from where the children had once stood, before their mother had called for them.

Were... Were those fairies? No, absolutely not. Just because he was (apparently) a nation, didn't mean he had to believe in such nonsense! He was, or at least, he liked to believe he was, a rational man.

The chatter continued. England sighed. He must have lost his mind or something. He considered getting up and walking away, pretending that this whole thing hadn't happened, but that would have left him doubting his sanity.

Well, he already was, but that was besides the point.

Suddenly he felt something prodding his nose curiously. Annoyed, he tried swatting it away, but failed.  
>"Ah, will you stop it!" He snapped at it after a while, although he was pretty sure he was talking to himself.<p>

"You felt that?" The thing that had been bothering him asked.  
>"Yes I bloody well felt that!" He said, noting the voice being female, and high-pitched, much like those... Fairies...<p>

"Oh cra... You're a fairy..." He stated bluntly, letting his head rest in his hands. The fairy touched his hands gently, holding one of his fingers comfortingly.  
>"And you are?" She asked hesitantly, not saying yes to England's question.<p>

"... England..." He said quietly. The fairy suddenly hugged the finger she'd been holding and gasped "Really? Is it you England?" England sat up, puzzled at the fairies reaction. _I've bloody lost it... I'm not seriously believing in fairies now, am I?_

"I... Yes... Do you know me?" _Yes, I've lost it._

"What do you mean do I know you?"  
>"Elma, who's this?" A new fairy asked. England sighed, feeling a headache coming on. He so wished he hadn't found America's phone in Blind Sense right now. Or at least, remembered to put it in the lost and found box.<p>

"It's England!" 'Elma' claimed with a happy voice.  
>"Nuh uh, looks nuthin' like 'im!" Another voice spoke up. "E's missing his signature eyebrows..."<p>

"You know, I'm right here."  
>"He can see us!"<p>

"Of course he can, he's England!"  
>"Prove it."<p>

"Oh come on, all you have to do is take his sunglasses off! Plus, he can see us! How many adult humans can see us at his age?"

"Uh..."  
>"Do I get to say anything?" The fairies silenced.<p>

"I... I have no idea why I'm talking to you (since you shouldn't exist), neither do I know you, but I am England." He hesitantly took his sunglasses off. "See?" He asked, not sure what was so special about his eyebrows.

Maria had told him they looked perfectly normal.  
>"England!" All mythical beings screamed out at once, diving in to hug him as best they could.<p>

"Where were you?" One asked.  
>"Why cann't you recognise us any more?"<p>

"We were so worried about you!" They all broke out into questions similar to these.  
>"Uh..." England responded. This was... Weird...<p>

"I... I don't remember anything and, you do realise I'm blind, right?" The fairies got off him and looked at him closely.  
>"Why can't you remember anything?" Another curious fairy asked.<p>

"I can't remember." England responded. ".. This is so weird..."  
>"Wait, why can't you see anything?" The fairy that had annoyed him first asked, trying to hold his face up so she could inspect it.<p>

"I can't remember." England said again, some irritation in his voice.

"Hey, do you think we could heal this?" The fairy asked the others. They crowded around England, he knew this because he sort of felt them closing in on him. Don't ask how.

"Well it looks simple enough..."

* * *

><p>"How are you this morning miss Liechtenstein?" Lukas asked, having finally found her in a restaurant downstairs, a bowl of Müsli in front of her.<br>"I am much better, thank you." She replied, smiling.

"That's good to hear." He sat down opposite of her, sighing deeply. "There are a lot of things we need to do, but I think we should start at the beginning of this whole mess. Nearly a century ago, nearly all of you went missing causing the world to panic." He started, putting a file on the table, with "The Nation-Nap Mystery" written on it in German.

Liechtenstein nodded affirmatively.

"Right, now this is important. This file is actually something owned privately. My granddad made it and kept it at home, although this is strictly forbidden. Luckily he managed to keep this, because your secret and official files... Well, Herr Zweigli checked last night and found absolutely nothing there. Absolutely nothing." Lukas explained.**

"The HCS..." Liechtenstein said quietly. They must have stolen any information on her.  
>"Anyway, we basically had... Well we still have no idea what happened. The place you were last seen in was in a small trainstation in Calancatal*** and you were accompanied by Switzerland.<p>

"Yes..." Liechtenstein replied.  
>"Care to fill us in on what happened?" And so she started explaining. Lukas taped everything she said and listened carefully, when suddenly they were inturrupted.<p>

"What is it?" Lukas asked the young man that had inturrupted the hearing.

"Ah, we found some people those agents were after as well. We were wondering if they're nations too." The man replied. Lukas looked over to Liechtenstein, who nodded.

"OK, bring them in." The man nodded and went out, three people soon entering the room.

"OK, listen here, I deny having anything to do with taking over the Aquariam and declaring it my property!" The youngest of the three announced.

Liechtenstein immediately shot out of her chair, recognising the three almost instantly.  
>"Sealand! Latvia! Er... Korea?" Liechtenstein said aloud, smiling happily at finally meeting some other nations. This was great! The three stared at her blankly.<p>

"Who are you?" Sealand asked, giving her a suspicious glare.

Liechtenstein's happy demeanor fell.  
>"Oh right..." She said quietly, sitting down on her chair. "Of course they don't remember..." Lukas looked between the three nations to the only female one present, confused.<p>

* * *

><p>"OK, England, we're done! We've discovered that several of your abilities, such as fast healing or nation-hopping have been blocked, so we unblocked them. You should start feeling like England soon." A fairy said to England.*<p>

"OK..." England muttered. "Can I open my eyes again now?"  
>"No, we'd advise against it. Maybe in a couple minutes."<p>

"OK..." England repeated. "Well, thanks for helping me (although I doubt you really have...)." He got up, touching his hair, to find a fairy happily perched on it. She must have decided his head was a good resting place.

"Do you need help with anything else?" The fairy asked, lying down on his messy blonde mop.

"Well, now that you mention it... The only reason I ended up here is because I got lost. Could you get me back to China?"

"What the landmass, people or...?"  
>"The personification, the personification!" <em>Wow... That's hard to say correctly twice in a row...<em>

"Yes England, we would gladly help you." A chorus of tiny fairy voices announced. One grabbed his hand, tugging it slightly. "Just follow us!" The fairy announced. England frowned. Following again, huh? Well, it didn't work so well the first time round, but still... Maybe this time it'll work...

* * *

><p>*<strong>I was actually planning on Prussia being one of the dead nations, but he decided he was too awesome to be dead and ended up being one of the non-dead nations. Yay.<br>** You know, originally, Lukas Friedli was just going to be an unimportant OC, like Maria and Jack (the two Americans that took care of England and Liechtenstein, remember?), but some how he ended up having a bigger role.  
>*** Tha-at's somewhere in Switzerland.<br>*However, for those who dislike fairies, like moi, then this would be England's imagination taking the better of him. The reason he's healing, is because he's in his country, which helps him a lot in getting over the blockade. The reason he's able to find China, is because his ability to sense other nations has kicked back in.  
><strong>

**Anyway, I know this chapter isn't as smooth as other chapters (and now that I think about it, also short), but I hope it was enjoyable! And sorry for the long wait...  
><strong>


	15. Chapter 14

"Hey, is that that Arthur guy you were looking for?" Gilbert asked, pointing at a blind man looking a bit lost.

"Yes, that Eng- Arthur aru!" China said, rushing over to the Brit.  
>"England! Where in the world have you been aru?" He demanded, hugging him in a moment of public affectional display.<p>

"Er... I got lost..." England replied awkwardly. China let him go, looking him over. "How did you get lost aru?" He asked, checking for possible injuries (protectvie much?)

"I stopped paying attention to you and then I realised that I didn't know where you were, so I called for you..." England explained slowly. Satisfied, China smiled at England relieved.  
>"Well, at least I've found you now aru."<p>

"Well, actually, the fairies-"  
>"Thank you for your help aru!" China interrupted, not paying attention to what England had wanted to say and turning to Hungary, Prussia and Austria.<p>

"Think nothing of it. We were glad to help." Hungary replied, smiling back at China.  
>"Now, if you excuse us, we really must get going now." Austria huffed out, tugging at Prussia's and Hungary's arms. Realising that they were planning on leaving, China quickly thought up something in order to stop them disappearing into the crowds.<p>

"Ah, wait! Can I buy you a coffee or something aru? Just to show you my thanks... aru..." China quickly suggested. Austria stopped half-dragging the two nations arms off the market place and turned to China thoughtfully.

Prussia looked a bit puzzled by the sudden suggestion, Hungary suspicious, but Austria, ever the frugal man, looked thoughtfully.  
>"Fine, if you want to..." Austria finally said. After all, who turns down a free coffee?*<p>

* * *

><p>In the meantime, in the South Pole, three nations were digging up snow, ice and rubbel, trying to reach a base underground. They had been at it for hours and had to take breaks often, to return to the safety of a warm plane.<p>

America was kind of relieved that Germany had talked him into taking the bigger and also slower plane, because it had heating inside. The three were currently outside again, digging, America occasionally complaining about how their mission was getting on so boringly slow and how absolutely, unnaturally freezing it was.

Japan and Germany ignored him for the most part.

"Hey, is it me or is it getting difficult to stand on this?" America asked after a while, noticing how wobbly and cracked the ground beneath them was becoming.  
>"We must be getting close to the base. You were right about it being underground America-san."<p>

"Hey, if it's already having difficulty supporting us, I'd better get some rope, in case it crashes. We'd need to climb back out after all." Germany decided, climbing back out of the hole. He walked to the plane, entering it once again.

He looked through their emergency equipment and finally found three firm ropes. He quickly ran back, to find the hole deeper and empty.  
>"Huh? Hey, Amerika! Japan! Are you down there?" He called.<p>

There were some muffled replies, probably in agreement.  
>"What happened?" He asked, leaning a bit closer in hopes of understanding them.<p>

"America-san continued digging and caused the ground to collapse. We're in the base now!" Japan called up.  
>"OK! I'll throw some ropes down then!"<p>

Hurriedly, Germany tightened the ropes to a rock that was conveniently nearby. He then threw the three ropes down into the hole, using on to climb down. Once reaching the bottom, America waved happily and walked over.

"Check it out dude, a secret military base!"  
>"... More like crime base. And it's not like none of us have been in one before..." Germany said. "So what now?"<p>

"Well, we look for stuff, you know, material to help us prove that Italy, Japan, England and er... That Guy... Oh yeah, Canadia! are actually nations."  
>Japan nodded, looking around the halls, while shuddering.<p>

"I think they have an archive on us around here somewhere... Although, if they've abandoned the base, they probably took all that with them." Japan said, leading the two down the halls.

"OK, well, let's go find that archive! Or at least a computer." America announced.  
>"Hai, but it's always been difficult to locate anything here." Japan replied, opening a door.<p>

The others filed in, noticing that it was another office.  
>"... Now that I think about it, I never took the time to search an office..." Japan murmered softly, looking around the room. The HCS must have been in a real rush; the room was still loaded with files and paperwork.<p>

They probably only took what was most necessary. The other two nations, which were a lot more curious than the nation that had been trapped here for decades, were flicking through the paperwork.

"Hey, what's this here?"

* * *

><p>"What did you call us?" South Korea asked. Liechtenstein didn't respond. What does she do now? They still didn't remember her, what does she say?<p>

"Sir, you will adress Miss Lilli as Ma'am, Madam or Miss at all times!" Lukas announced annoyed, shooting out of his own chair too.  
>"Wha-?"<p>

"Why?" Sealand asked. Lukas was about to continue, but Liechtenstein tugged at his arm, shaking her head lightly. He nodded and sat down again.

"I am Lilli and am considered an important part of Liechtenstein. May I ask, what are your names?"  
>"Well, I'm Peter Kirkland, he's Raivis Galante and he's Im Yong Soo!" Sealand announced, smiling nervously. He noticed a dark glare coming from Lukas and quickly added "Ma'am".<p>

"Do you live in Liechtenstein?" She further inquired.  
>"No, we're from Switzerland, we're just spending our holiday here... Ma'am." Sealand explained.<p>

"Is that so..." Liechtenstein sighed. So, here were three people, who she knew were nations. But what does she do with them? Tell them the whole truth? They'll think she's insane!

... Unless...

"Say... Do you three lack memories from before about a year ago?" All three paled with shock written all over their face.

_Bingo!_ Liechtenstein thought, making sure that her face stayed passive.

"Well..." South Korea started, only to be inturrupted by Liechtenstein.

"You were found somewhere alone with no memories of what happened a year ago, am I right?" She asked, keeping her smile under tight locks.

"Y-yes..." Sealand muttered.

"Yes, I thought so... Er... Herr Friedli, how far did I get with my tale again?"  
>"You were just getting to the point of discovery."<p>

"Well... Herr Kirkland, Herr Galante, Herr... Yong Soo**? Please feel free to take a seat." The three nodded and sat down in the chairs. Liechtenstein pushed her bowl of Müsli*** away and took a deep breath.

"Now, the reason I can guess what had happened is because something similar happened to me." Liechtenstein began to explain shyly.

"... I was found in a... Container, badly beaten and taken to a hospital for treatment. I had no memories of my past when I woke up there, that is, until yesterday." Liechtenstein left a pause, remembering once again how her life as Lilli Kirkland was. It had certainly been... Interesting...

Switzerland certainly wouldn't have approved of some of the things she'd done as a human (and for that matter, when _Arthur_ found out about them, he wasn't that thrilled either).

"... And... I know you, from before I ended up in the container." Liechtenstein explained. She gave Lukas a look, silently asking him to call the Swiss Guard in as soon as Sealand, South Korea and Latvia made any moves to make a run after she told them the truth.

"You do? Tell us, tell us!" Both South Korea and Sealand demanded, getting out of their seats. Latvia merely looked up curiously, to nervous to make any comment.

"Well... First I guess I'll start with your real names... You could say that your current names are merely aliases."  
>"Well?"<p>

"Peter, your real name is Sealand, Im, your real one is South Korea and Raivis, yours is Latvia..." She rambled out quickly.

"_What_? Are you crazy? What are you talking about?" Sealand yelped, immediately jumping out of his seat again, only to be forced back in.

Three Swiss Guards had entered the room without the others noticing and were now forcing the three to stay put.

"Just... Give it some thought?" Liechtenstein asked, hoping she hadn't been too blunt and outgoing about the whole topic.

The three silenced, thinking about what she'd said.  
>"Well..." Sealand started after a pause. "... It'd explain a lot about me..."<p>

* * *

><p><em>Well... This is strangely not awkward<em> aru... China thought to himself. England had become silent, listening to the three strangers with interest.

Prussia was going on about how he managed to put some guy in his place, with Hungary making side comments, on what had basically really happened and Austria just drank his coffee silently, with very little interest in the actual conversation.

China had in all honesty expected there to be an awkward silence, but he had forgotten that Prussia was never silent (unless he was depressed, which he currently was most certainly not).

And England seemed to be taking it well, that he was suddenly forced to have coffee with complete strangers.

At least, that's what China thought until England delibaretly nudged both his and China's spoons to the floor.  
>"Oh shoot, sorry China..." England apologised.<p>

"Er, it's OK." China replied, slightly confused by the younger nations' actions. He got under the table to pick the spoon up, England hurriedly joining him.  
>"China, what the <em>hell<em> are you doing?" England hissed quietly. China looked up surprised.

"What do you mean aru?"  
>"Who are they? Why are you so keen on keeping them here?" He whispered back, picking up his spoon.<p>

"They're other nations England." China quietly replied. He studied England's reaction, but those damned sunglasses made his expressions near impossible to read.

England didn't say anything on the three strangers being nations as well and sat up again, having picked up his spoon.

China sighed and picked his spoon up, also getting up.

Prussia was still chattering animatedly, Hungary with an amused smile on her face, especially when she shot his chat down with snarky remarks or the cold, solid truth.

Somehow that didn't stop him from talking about how awesome he was anyway.

"Ah, sorry, but we _really_ must go now." Austria finally announced. China was about to try and stop them, having still not successfully gotten them to arrange another meeting, but England stopped him.

"It was nice meeting you." Hungary said, smiling.  
>"Yeah, you too." England replied. "Ah, Gilbert, we really must go out for a drink sometime. The way you got that meal at a restaurant free of charge is amaz- awesome." He continued, looking roughly in Prussia's direction.<p>

Prussia grinned (not that England could see this) and nodded in agreement.  
>"That would be totally awesome. Look, I'll give you my- Er... I'll give your buddy my phone number, then you can call any time!" Prussia announced, taking out a piece of paper and quickly writing his number down, handing it to China.<p>

"Look guys, we've really got to go!" Austria pressed on frustrated.  
>"Well, catch 'cha later Arthur, er... I mean England!" Prussia said, saying bye to the two strange citizens, as Austria quickly pulled both him and Hungary out of the restaurant.<p>

"Why'd you stop me?" China asked after a while, having finished his own coffee (finally).

"We don't want to appear stalker-ish." England replied simply. "That was America's mistake. We want the three to trust us as soon as possible and we won't do that if we appear like creeps."

China didn't say anything, slightly insulted by England's attitude, but didn't further comment.

"Anyway, which nations were they?" England asked, having been unable to place the accents.  
>"They were Austria, Hungary and Prussia."<p>

"Oh..." England replied, placing a hand on his chest. He rubbed it slightly, feeling slightly different. He didn't quite understand it, but for the most part he ignored it.

"So, which one is which?..."

* * *

><p>Back in the HCS base, the three nations America, Japan and Germany were shuffling through the corridors, checking out rooms and gathering information.<p>

So far, they hadn't found much, however they discovered that the HCS had a lot of connections with criminal gangs.

These connections explained how so many criminal empires had managed to turn up all over the world during the last century and be so powerful.

The HCS had been developing weaponry and supplying weaponry for them, in exchange for their services, such as kidnapping nearly every personification on the planet.

And so it also turned out, that a lot of leads America had discovered weren't actually dead-ends. Had he been able to look further, he would have eventually found the HCS.

Luckily for them, crime was back under control to an extent, in other words, most highly professional criminals were locked behind bars.

Which meant that the proffessionality of HCS had already gone down, which explained why it was so easy to capture those spies.

They were having to hire amateurs to do their dirty work. It also matched what Japan remembered hearing from the first few days of the Nation-Nap Mystery and why, over the years, Nations found it more and more easy to escape.

So, although the seventeen nations or the world for that matter, didn't know it (until Germany, America and Japan found out of course), they actually _were_ helping the nations escape, by getting crime back under control.

It was kind of a pleasant thought, that you _hadn't_ been sitting around uselessly for the last century.

But otherwise, no information was found on the nations. The HCS seemed to have taken it all.  
>"They must have left some photos or something guys!" America complained, as they searched yet another floor and came up with nothing.<p>

Japan shrugged. "We at least have proof that the HCS is a threat to human society and supplied criminal empires with new weaponry regularely. That is enough to get them trialled and sentenced."

"Yeah, but they won't get punished for what they did to _us_!" America whined in reply. Both Germany and Japan shrugged.

"And how will the other personifications convince their governments that they're the country in human form?" America pointed out. "They don't have any proof in being what they claim to be and humans are very logical creatures nowadays.*"

Germany frowned at this.

America had a point. It would be very difficult to convince the humans of their existance, especially since so many people like to think logically and scientifically, a very small percentage believing in the supernatural (not including religion, naturally).

"Japan, I think we're going to have to check every single floor thoroughly. I know, that on the next floors are just cells, but... Even you have never been to the very bottom." Germany said, subtily suggesting what he wanted them to do.

"No..." Japan replied, paling at the thought.  
>"Huh? What's going on guys?" America asked, not having caught Germany's drift.<p>

"America, he wants us to... He wants us to check the floors below the cells."  
>"So?"<p>

"America, that's where they keep the dead nations."

* * *

><p>*<strong>Beware of people who offer to buy coffee for you. They often knew you in another life.<br>** I don't get his name. Is his first name Im and last name Yong Soo or what? Aaah, why are names so complicated? TT^TT  
>*** German? Austrian? Swiss? breakfast meal.<br>* This basically means if someone comes up to you, claiming to be a witch, you'll give them a weird look. However, do that four centuries ago and you'd be burned at the stake... Or drowned... Or somethin' like that. You know?  
><strong>

**I apologise for any OOCness. I'm not that familiar with either Latvia or South Korea or Sealand really... So please forgive me. Also, please forgive this chapter for being short and rushed, but I'm not good at writing fillers or exciting parts well (so what in the world _am_ I good at writing?)**

**Anyway, roll up guys and guess which nations'll be discovered dead! ... I make that sound like a good thing. =.="**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)**

**Review?**

Review Reply to Lyn (not sure if you'll see this)  
>Feliciano isn't blind to begin with. Otherwise he wouldn't be allowed to cook (not that blind people can't cook, but...)<p> 


	16. Chapter 15

Were there any floors beyond the cells? Well, they knew there was deffinitely at least one floor beneath the cells. And they had to check it.

Worst of all, the only nation to ever wander down there was in the UK, trying to remember who he was. And the only information he ever gave on the floors beneath the cells was summarised in two words.

Dead Nations.

That was quite a bomb to drop. And no, when the Brit had said dead nations, he was probably not talking about the ones that disappeared centuries ago, such as the Holy Roman Empire or the Roman Empire* himself.

And sadly, he never got the chance to list which ones were dead, not that it mattered. Seeing your worst nation-enemy dead was just as bad as seeing a good friend gone, since, as a nation, you were bound to have been at war and willing to kill nations you are or were good friends with (since in some cases nations are still sore around each other).

America, Germany and Japan were sitting on the stairs, two doors leading the floor of the dead nations to their left and right. They had finished checking the cells fairly quickly and really didn't want to check the floors left.

The information they had gathered had been quite good.

"How long have we been sitting here?" Germany asked after a while.

"Feels like hours..." America muttered, staring the door down, as if it was the doors fault it split the walls from a hallway to pure nightmare.  
>"We should really open that door." Japan said neutrally, trying not to portray any feelings.<p>

"... I guess I will. I did suggest to do this after all." Germany announced after a while, none of the three having budged.

Tiredly, he got to his feet. He had to mentally prepare himself before opening the door. Would he immediately face dead nations, or would it just be a long, long hallway?

It was hard to say, he was hoping to run into a long, long hallway. The longer it took until the met the dead nations, the better.

"Ready?" He asked America and Japan, who were now standing behind him. Japan nodded encouragingly, America gave him a nervous thumbs-up.

Nodding, Germany slowly opened the door, peeking inside first. It was dark, but to their instant relief, it seemed to be a long corridor. Germany swung the door fully open and turned the lights on.

Japan noticed that the hall was no different to any of the previous ones. It looked identical, having the same kind of hygienic-cleanness that made you feel sick.** It, like the other halls, smelled stuffy and of disinfectant. Germany and America looked at the doors curiously.

"I'd say these have dead nations behind them then..." Germany stated, frowning deeply. Japan nodded.

"Hai, they probably have."  
>"... I really don't want to open them..." America said, summarising how all three of them felt.<br>"Aber we have to Amerika. They may have stored information down here, and now that I think about it... I think it's best we find out who's dead now rather than later..."

Japan gave a forceful nod, not liking the idea at all. Hadn't Taiwan or the Phillipines been one of the nations to go missing during his stay?

America fell silent, as if in thought. On one hand, what was there to be afraid of? Essentially he had all those who were really important to him back, Canada, England and Japan. However, Mexico was still missing, much like other fellow American nations... And he still didn't know what'd happened to Australia...

Also, France, Russia, Cuba and Ukraine were missing, Canada would probably want to know whether or not to expect them back...

He sighed. In the end, Germany was right.  
>"Should we make a list or somethin'?" He asked after a while. "You know, so we don't forget which ones are deffinitely... Dead..."<p>

Germany and Japan looked at each other, then agreed with America.  
>"Right, let's... Let's start with this room then..." America muttered, taking out his phone, which would have to serve as a notepad and pen for a while.<p>

* * *

><p>It was evening over in London. England still hadn't told China about his interesting reaquaintance with magical beings.<p>

And quite honestly, he wasn't planning on doing so. He still couldn't fathom the idea of fairies and unicorns (and apparently also flying mint bunnies... Or was it just one mint bunny?)

China had left him alone in the bedroom for now, he was off making some calls to Spain, the Italies and America. He probably was also having a drink and trying to figure out a way of breaking the news to the recently rediscovered Prussia, Hungary and Austria, who oddly enough got on well together.

Of course, this was bound to change by the time they remember. Would they remember by themselves though?

England still didn't remember and so far no other nation had recovered their memories by themself. Well, he wasn't sure with Liechtenstein, but, as mentioned before, she'd been forgotten by everyone in the rush of things, much to his annoyance.

England sighed lying on his bed, looking upwards. He and China originally were going to visit his house, but after their run-in with some more... Missing nations (Hungary, Prussia and Austria), they'd totally forgotten.

In fact, rather than going anywhere, they'd spent the rest of the time talking about who the missing nations are and what they're like and how they could help them remember who they are. (China keenly forgot that England didn't have any memories still).

He sighed, fiddling with the rim of his sunglasses. The fairies claimed to have healed him, and that it'd be "soon" until he started "feeling like England" again.

It was sometime in the evening now and he _still_ didn't feel any different. Maybe it _had_ been his imagination playing tricks on him... Maybe, just... Tiredly, he took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes.

All this nation stuff was getting him down... It'd be wonderful if he didn't feel like a stranger any more with people he knew for (presumably) centuries. Especially since they seemed to know more about him, than he did himself.

Sighing, he looked up, staring boredly at the ceiling, looking at the ceiling fan to be specific-

...

... He... _looked_? England blinked in surprise, straightening up. He wasn't mistaken. It was _really_ difficult to imagine seeing things, especially if you hadn't seen before (er... The years he didn't remember naturally didn't count.)

"They really did heal..." He muttered, but found himself unable to finish. Curiously, he looked around, recognising things almost instantly.

That wasn't normal, he shouldn't know what anything looked like... Well, he should, so it _was_ normal, but that's besides the point. He looked around the room in search of a mirror.

Seriously, the fairies accused him of not having his signature eyebrows, because the sunglasses were covering them, i.e. they were hidden from view.

But what would be so special about his eyebrows, that it'd make them worth calling _signature_?

Locating a mirror in the bathroom, he walked to it, having to balance himself a bit (he wasn't used to seeing a room suddenly change persepective just by standing up).

And low and behold, there were those... Deffinitely infamous eyebrows. England paled.

_Well, t-they're not _that_ bad. _England lied to himself, looking at the two black caterpillars on his face. Ignoring them, he swiftly moved on to examining the rest of his face.

His eyes... They had a colour... Oh right, that's it, they're green! His hair is... Yellow? No, no, when talking of hair colour, don't you use a different word?

... Blonde? Mmh... Probably.

He left the mirror and examined the room, recognising colours and objects and naming them. It was one way to kill time, and it was _sort_ of cool...

He sat down, picking up a pile of... Papers? No, a magazine. It felt like a magazine, this is what it looks like.

He opened it curiously. It had... Letters in it... Yeah, a _T_, a _H_... and an _E_... And these letters formed words.

_ The._  
>And then the words formed sentences...<br>_The best way to cook the lamb is to leave it roasting in the oven for about half an hour at 200° C._

And then the sentences formed a text, which was some boring receipe (or something) on how to cook a sunday roast.

Reading... He had just read something, without having to use touch. He looked around, still quite curious.

He wondered if this was how blind people felt if they were given eyesight. Probably not. But then again, he once used to be able to see.

... Well, this is boring. His mind felt like it had had a small jolt, everything that had appeared weird and odd becoming normal, plain and boring.

He no longer was confused by everything in the room. It was all normal and he could name anything he saw. Even the small spider in the top left corner of the room.

England took the remote and turned the TV on. _OK, let's think. My sight is repaired again, now what? __The other guys mentioned "sensing other nations" and also feeling their people in their blood or something like that..._

_Oh bloody hell, that'll mean I'll feel like that._

* * *

><p>The three stood at the entrance, all with their mouths agape and eyes blank and unreadable. Sadness lurked in the corner of their eyes and their hands were curled into fists.<p>

They had opened a door and the first nations they saw, supposedly dead, stared right back at them, their eyes glassy and frozen over.

There were four "occupants", if you could call them that, in the room, all in their own little, round, see-through chambers, water surrounding them.

The water was frozen, you couldn't see who they were, only vaguely that their eyes were looking at the door, as if they were wishing they could run to their only exit and escape.

Otherwise, nothing of the four dead nations was recognisable. You could only tell who they were by the labels at the bottom.

_Taiwan. Wales. Pakistan***. Mongolia._

Slowly, America pushed Germany and Japan out of the small room, quickly writing their names. Well, now they knew how they'd been 'killed'.

They'd been injured to such an extent that it became mortal to a human and were then frozen in ice. Japan fell on the floor next to Germany and America silently.

He had been close to Taiwan and Mongolia and had wondered for a long time, why he hadn't bumped into them... Japan frowned suddenly, tucking his emotions away.

He can mourn for them later. Now was not the time or place. Besides, he never betrayed his emotions to his fellow nations anyway, why start now?**** His shock was quickly hidden away too, being burried in the back of his mind.

The other two nations were silent. They hadn't really known the four (dead) nations* very well, but they still were beyond angry, and trying hard to control it.

Germany took a deep breath, although it didn't help his rage very much. He swallowed the raw emotion, along with the desire to just cry for the fallen nations and fear to find his brother on this floor.

After that, it got easier. By that, one means, that it was easier to come eye to eye with someone you once knew without going into states of anger, shock and sadness.

The list that America had seemed to become forever longer. Strangely enough, a lot of African and Middle-Eastern Countries were... dead...**

As they worked their way back, the names disappeared. For a while it was country and human name. Then just human name. Then human name plus prisoner number. And then just prisoner number.

It was impossible to tell which nation was which, the ice being often white, rather than see-through. However, when they got to one of the rooms near the back, it wasn't all that difficult.

"Russia." Was all America said, recognising the tall nation through the thick ice. He was pointing towards a cabinet in the corner of the room as best he could in the small space.

"Prisoner 93." Germany muttered, looking at the label on the (basically) tank. Next to the Russian were two more chambers, but yet again, the nations were unrecognisable.

"I wonder why he was pointing at the cabinet?" America asked, finding it more and more difficult to restrain his already ballistic emotions.

Japan joined Germany, likewise bearing a deep frown. Russia hadn't been that bad. Especially not during the escape. He looked so sad...

America opened the cabinet, discovering several pieces of paper. Curiously he opened one and read it aloud.

It was from Russia. Sure, he hadn't signed it as Russia, but it _was_ from him. America sighed. It was the former-soviet's goodbye letter.

Germany and Japan leaned over to read it too.

"I guess the HCS let Russia write it."  
>"Either that or he knew how to leave secret messages behind." America mumbled in reply, looking back at the cabinet. He grabbed some of the others, discovering they were more letters left by the dead.<p>

Germany took several, discovering one from Switzerland and France. Japan read Taiwan's and Viet Nam's.

America didn't know whether to laugh or cry. These letters were the proof of other nation's existences. However, the letters were written with the prospect that they were going to die and needed to have something for closure.

Naturally, life has a way of pulling ill-timed pranks on you. Such a moment was now.

"Don't want to be an American Idiot" started playing suddenly, coming from America's pocket, who blushed in embarassment, having just ruined the depressing and sad moment.

"Er... I swear, I did _not_ set it to that ring tone!" He defended himself, quickly taking the phone out.

"How can America get signal all the way down here?" Japan asked Germany.  
>"Well, technology has advanced a bit since... You disappeared. Admittably, not nearly as much as in the previous centuries, but still quite a bit." Germany explained.<p>

"Most of it came from your country too..." He added on, his gaze lowering. Japan looked away, upset that he had missed so much of his technological developements.

It was like being isolated from the (still weird) nations all over. America picked up, not bothering to see who it was.

"Yo! The hero speaking!" A deep sigh was the response.  
>"Hello America aru."<p>

"China! Why're you callin'?" He asked, looking to both Germany and Japan, who gave him curious looks in return. Another deep sigh came in response. Why did China sound so depressed?

"I'm checking to see how far you have come with your part of the world aru." He explained slowly. "So far the other two teams have been unsucessful. The nations aren't home at the moment, so they're having to wait until they get back."

"Oh, well... Stay positive!" America replied, trying to cheer the depressed Chinese up.  
>"Have you made any progress on the Oceanic continent?"<p>

"Er..." America mumbled, not sure what to say. He looked at the letters Germany and Japan still had in their hands.

"I assume you haven't... Well, good luck then."  
>"Er... Thanks... Is there anything else?" China left a pause, considering on whether or not to reply truthfully. Again he sighed, but this time because he'd made up his mind.<p>

"I found Prussia, Hungary and Austria in London..."  
>"What? No way dude!" America exlcaimed excitedly, his eyes then falling on Russia's glassy ones. Guilt swallowed him up immediately and sadness welled up.<p>

"There's one problem... They don't remember who they are. How did you get England to accept the nation-thing aru?"  
>"Er... Iggy? Well, I told him I knew him and basically told him everything about himself."<p>

"What? You just went up to him and bluntly stated who he was aru?"  
>"Duh, of course not." America replied, frowning. "I usually got pieces of information out, before he exploded in my face or stormed off or fell asleep..."<p>

There was a bashing noise coming from over the phone.  
>"Er... China, you're not bashing your head against anything, are you?"<p>

"What would give you that idea aru?" China replied irritated. America let out an awkward laugh.  
>"Don't worry dude, I'm sure you'll get em round some how!" China muttered something darkly in response, though America couldn't really hear what he'd said.<p>

"Listen, I got to hang up, battery's runnin low."  
>"Fine."<p>

"Bye China!"  
>"By-"<p>

America stuffed the phone in his pocket and turned to Germany.  
>"Germany, I know we're all upset about the recent deaths, but I have some good news!" He announced, a small smile on his face.<p>

Germany remained unexpressive, looking up to America.  
>"Is that so?" He asked after a while.<p>

"China's found Prussia! (And Austria and Hungary). He's in London with them!" Germany's eyes lit up ever so slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching up and down.

"I know, I totally know how you feel right now!" Of course, America naturally didn't, but still, it was the thought that counted.

"We are going to London _right now_!" Germany announced, getting to his feet in a split second. The enthusiasm wasn't visible on his face or audible in his voice, however, the announcement itself made if pretty clear.

"Ah, wait Germany-san, America-san. I know you are both enthusiastic, but... Some of us are still suffering from losses..." Japan inturrupted, examining the hand-written letter from Taiwan.

His mask kept slipping, it was getting harder to act unemotional. His eyes were already watery.  
>"Besides, we haven't checked all the rooms on this floor yet... There are still several left." Japan exlpained, looking at the list of the dead on his own phone.<p>

(Each nation agreed to make a list of the dead on their own phone... Where Japan managed to get a new phone so quickly was unknown, since he didn't need on while he was blind. The mysterious appearance of the phone probably had something to do with being the most technologically advanced nation of the 22nd Century.)

America agreed with Japan. "Yeah... Don't worry Germany, it's not like they'll disappear again mysteriously, right?"  
>"Er... " Japan mumbled, about to inturrupt America, but said American continued, ignoring him.<p>

"Besides, China needs to still have the talk with him.*** He's still calling himself Gilbert you know." America collected the goodbye notes, putting them into Japan's backpack (did I forget to mention he had one on?). Germany sighed deeply, nodding his head slowly.

"You both are right. I really should stop acting on emotions."  
>"Dude, you never do." America commented. Germany was about to retaliate on that, not sure on whether or not America had insulted him, but America beat him to it.<p>

"OK! Let's go guys, the sooner we're done, the sooner we can get revenge- er... Bring justice to- er... I mean, the sooner we can sort this mess out!" America announced, tugging his fellow nations with him.

* * *

><p>Liechtenstein paced around her bedroom. It was already evening (how had time fluttered by so fast?).<p>

Sealand, South Korea and Latvia still thought all of them were nuts, but were either enjoying the luxury of having everything served to them on a golden platter too much or too afraid of the guns and guards to leave and, of course, voice their opinions.

It frustrated her to no end.

"... Bruder, what would you have done in this situation?" She muttered to herself... If only she'd payed more attention to Switzerland's self-defense lessons! He probably mentioned what to do in this kind of situation.

(Seriously, Switzerland even metioned what to do in the situation of a Multi-Dimensional, Zombie- and Ghost-Apocalypse, with America clinging around your neck and screaming like a little girl)

Sighing, Liechtenstein looked at the phone in her room, a small frown on her lips. She couldn't remember for the life of her which nations hadn't been taken away with them.

She remembered Germany, Spain and South Italy, but that was it... Besides, she couldn't reach any of them! Their old phone numbers were either outdated or no one knew where they were! (Usually a combination of both)

(Actually, when she called Italy's government, they asked who Romano was... This is deeply depressing.)

She tried remembering, lying down on her bed in hopes of relaxing. But no other name would come back to her and her shoulders stayed just as tense as before.

She also remembered things, that made it her stiffness even worse. She still needed to call England. She'd tired calling Maria and Jack earlier, but they didn't pick up...(OK, it was night over there when she rang, but still!)

At least she knew England was OK... Sort of...  
>"This is so embarrassing..." She mumbled, dumping a pillow onto her face. She sat there in silence for a while, until she heard her bedroom door creak open.<p>

"Er... Hey, Lilli?" Sealand asked, his head popping up from behind the door. She glanced over him briefly, but very quickly went back to sulking underneath a pillow.****

"Listen, I know you know that I think my name being Sealand is crazy bonkers, but you know, I guess it kinda explains why Peter doesn't feel like my real name 'n stuff."

She rolled onto her back, but continued sulking silently.

"... Listen, I've noticed that you're pretty upset and I've decided that you and I and my friends need to go out and do something. Like go to a cinema! My mates and I were originally gonna go there earlier today, but then those weird... I mean, then stuff happened, so... Yeah... I think the cinema was called Irish Pathé or something, it's all a mumble jumble in here... But I thought it'd be great if we all went together!" Sealand started.

Liechtenstein sat up, staring at him in complete happiness.  
>"Ireland! Another nation I haven't tried yet!" She exclaimed happily, running over to Sealand to hug him. "Thanks so much!"<p>

"Er... You're welcome..." _Girl... Too close... I've probably caught cooties from her!_

"Herr Friedli, Herr Friedli! There're two more calls I need you to make!" She called down the hall, running to where her current guardian slept.

* * *

><p>Somewhere, in Ireland, an Irish man woke up in the middle of the night, having been disturbed by his government and then went ballistic at hearing the news of a missing nation's return.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Heya guys, sorry for the late update. TT^TT School, projects, laziness and Writer's block really don't go hand in hand you know. On a side note, I've been polishing this fiction up a bit. The prologue has been changed completely (please tell me if you prefer the new on or the old one), the giant plot hole from chapter 7's been fixed, and small things like Romano calling America a capitalist pig, etc. have been fixed.<strong>** I'd like to thank anyone and everyone who pointed out the flaws in the fanfiction. Seriously guys, you are all owsom! :D  
><strong>

***I'm referencing one of my darling reviewers here, namely alexdemyx. ****She/He (sorry, even when it's plain obvious which gender the person has, I can never guess correctly) asked if I was bringing back the Holy Roman Empire, to which I had to quite honestly and unfortunately say no... However, I couldn't resist referencing him at some point. :3  
>** I have <em>not<em> got a fear of hospitals, but they smell and look just a tad creepy...  
>*** Did you know Pakistan used to be a British Colony (Well technically, it was part of British India back then, but that's besides the point)?<br>*** By this I mean strong emotions, such as violent outbursts of anger, deep sadness that goes on and on and on or happiness that is accompanied by strong feelings of relief and safety and makes you compelled to express these feelings by hugging or even kissing.  
>* A load of tripe? Yeeeeeess- Probably.<br>** America: Heck, these guys are _so_ racist!  
>*** Pff~ The talk... No, I don't mean the one parents have with their kids. ;)<br>**** Er... Seems Liechtenstein has hit puberty. That'll be the reason why she is a little OOC.  
><strong>

**YYYEEESSS! We have +50 reviews! Cheers everyone~ :D**

**Question: Do you think America & England really are the main characters in the story? Cause I'm starting to have doubts...**

**Oh, and what do you think if I made an OC (Ireland) have a minor appearance? (Plus, it'd be based off different Ireland's I read about...).  
><strong>


	17. Chapter 16

It was already late at night. The Italys had been forced to reside in a hotel when night came, the African and Middle-Eastern nations having not returned from where ever they were.

Canada and Spain had more luck though, the South American nations had come home all together and been ecstatic at seeing Canada, who was a missing nation.

Liechtenstein had ended up being dragged to the cinema by Sealand and South Korea, along with poor Latvia.

Once they got back it was already very late and so she collapsed in her bed, any thoughts of the next day being banished immediately.

England and China were in the Hotel in London, both nations unable to sleep, but not willing to let the other be aware of this.

America, Japan and Germany were staying at that rich guys place, from where they'd borrowed the plane in the first place. Much like China and England, the three were unable to sleep, although it was for very, very different reasons.

For them, it had been a very difficult and emotional night.

* * *

><p>England hadn't slept well at all.<p>

First there were those bloody stupid dreams (however, the ones he dreamt of last night had had more of a flow to them and seemed more... Memory like...) and secondly, he kept getting odd shocks.

Unlike with Japan, Canada and Italy, he didn't suffer from one major brainfreeze and then have everything come back to him.

It all came back in short and sharp jolts.

Sadly, his memory was still missing. He remembered bits of stuff here and there, but they were usually utterly random... I mean, who cares to remember when they drew a doodle of a flying mint bunny during a world conference, only then to be caught by America and some French guy, who then proceeded to tease him for the rest of the year?

... He still hadn't told China about his sight having returned. He decided he'd rather wait until he could remember, before announcing it.

He stared at the little fairy sitting on his pillow. She had come to visit him several hours ago and had helped him get some sleep, even if it wasn't much.

She smiled sweetly at him and he ended up forcing a smile back, before rolling over onto his back.

He looked over to China, to find the nation still sleeping.

He decided to make light conversation with the fairy.  
>"So... How has my country been for the last century?" England asked, feeling slightly awkward about asking such a weird question.<p>

The fairy thought for a while.

"Not much has changed really. Not even the fashion, it's as if the world stood still, only very few countries made some "progress". Usually only the ones with their nations have been advancing, although Japan was able to continue developing its technology without Japan himself." The fairy summarised.

"Is that so? Interesting... Question."  
>"Yes?"<p>

"Why didn't you help me when I went missing?" The fairy frowned in response.  
>"Well... We did, we looked for you everywhere in the whole of the UK and Ireland and couldn't find you. We would have looked for you abroad, but we find it difficult to travel any further than you and your brothers countries."<p>

"Wait, rewind. I have _brothers_?" Well, that was something he hadn't been told yet. Then again, it wasn't like anyone had had the time to tell him this.

The fairy nodded.

"Yeah, Ireland, North Ireland, Wales and Scotland*... Three of which disappeared with you..." England frowned, but then realised something.

"You mean one of my brothers is still around?"  
>"England, don't get excited. You and your brothers aren't on good terms and actually, in the last century, things between Ireland and the UK have gotten worse again."<p>

England's frown deepened.  
>"You mean my brothers and I hated each other?"<p>

"Well, it's mostly your brothers versus you, they seemed to get along fine with each other, just not with you."_ Well, I certainly didn't want to hear that_... England thought to himself.

"But you didn't really hate each other, there was still some kind of brotherly love..." The fairy ammended, in hopes of cheering England up. "... It's just that all five of you didn't get along."

England continued frowning, but shrugged it off.  
>"What time is it?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.<p>

"Six o'clock!"  
>"Psh, not so loud. China might here you." England said, trying to hush her.<p>

"Er... England, China can't hear us."  
>"Huh? Why not?"<p>

"He doesn't know we exist, so he can't see or hear us..." England stared at her with disbelieving eyes for a moment. So this _wasn't_ a nation thing?

"... I bet everyone thinks I'm crazy..." England muttered into his hands.

"No, of course not!" The fairy quickly defended him, flying in front of his nose. "No one thinks you're crazy! Well, apart from your people... And fellow nations... And anyone in general who sees you talking to us, including animals... And recently yourself..."

"This really isn't helping."  
>"Would you rather I lie?"<p>

England didn't reply to that, deciding to get off the bed and put the kettle on to make tea.

"... It's six." England muttered, looking over to China. The Asian nation continued sleeping, having come under the fairies spell as well.

Obviously, the spell worked a lot better on China than on England, even though the spell had been directed at England.

Sighing, the Brit finished making tea and settled down in the arm chair. He could feel them. His people that is... So to say. It was kind of odd. He kind of felt all sorts of things as a nation. He felt like a billion different people at once and yet was at the same time only himself.

He could also feel the size of his country inside of him, essentially, he felt bigger on the inside.** Quite large. And then there was also the UK size and the common wealth... He assumed he must represent more than just "England".

It was... As said, very odd. A human couldn't imagine it any how.

After drinking his tea, he set it down and grabbed his coat. He considered leaving China a message, but how would a blindman leave a message?

Shrugging, he picked up a piece of paper and wrote something on it quickly, adressing both himself and China by their human names, hinting to China that England had asked one of the hotel staff to write it for him.

He folded it and left it next to the kettle.

"England, where are you going?" The fairy asked, hurriedly flying after the Brit.  
>"I'm going go to my house. China wanted to take me there yesterday, but we didn't get round to it."<p>

"Ah... But you don't know the way... Do you?"  
>"I remember what it looks like... I think... Besides, you can show me the way."<p>

"True, true." The fairy replied, smiling and settling on his shoulder. "Well, onwards we go!" The fairy said, pointing forwards with a grin on her face.

England merely gave her an amused smile, getting on to the lift***.

* * *

><p>"Another loonatic's coming over?" All three nations asked. Liechtenstein gave them a pained smile, wishing that someone who usually kept these three nations under control were here.****<p>

(Such as for Latvia: Estonia and Lithuania)

"Yes. He's called Mr. Ireland. He's finding it incredebly difficult to get here though, since his government is absolutely certain that this is a cheap prank..."

"His first name is Mister? How lame~" Sealand interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"Er... Peter, I think Mister isn't his name, mister's just... You know, a title."  
>"You mean he's called Ireland?"<p>

Liechtenstein nodded affirmatively.

"He's trying to get here for lunch this afternoon. He's very nice, but he's a bit short-tempered, so please try not to get on his nerves."

The three nodded.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Yong Soo asked.  
>"Er... Well yes, I also wanted to say that I enjoyed going to the cinema with you yesterday (although it was pretty late)."<p>

"Ah, it was nothing." Peter replied, waving it aside hurriedly.

"When are you needed back home?" Liechtenstein asked.

"Not any time soon, why?"  
>"That's good. Is it OK if you stay here until you have to go back?"<p>

"Wait, you mean you want to stay here?" Latvia asked, feeling a bit alarmed.

"Well, yes... You see, I'd like to take you to a few places that you used to visit a lot in the past..."  
>"Really?" Yong Soo asked, interrupting Liechtenstein. "Like what?"<p>

"Well, it's a bit of a surprise..." She replied, smiling. Really, she would have told them where they were going to go, but she had no idea if she'd have the money or clearance to go at all.

"So, are these places here, in Vaduz?" The Asian man continued to ask curiously.  
>"No, they're in Switzerland... Don't worry, you don't have to pay, I'm hoping Ireland will be willing to."<p>

"Wait, is this Ireland dude rich then?"  
>"No... Well yes, but-"<p>

"How rich?"  
>"Um... " Liechtenstein replied, not really sure. She herself was a very rich country, but she didn't really have the government by her side at the moment, so she was kinda poor right now.<p>

However Ireland... Well, how was his economy nowadays anyway? She hadn't really had a chance to study these kind of things in almost a century after all (and as Lilli, she didn't care much for economics).

"I don't know." She finally said honestly. "He can buy whatever he wants or needs though, so I guess rich enough..."

"You don't say..." Sealand asked, looking away, as if he were plotting something. Liechtenstein sighed. "So what are we going to do until Ireland gets here?"

"Well, I thought we could go for a iceskating or something..." Liechtenstein suggested. "There's a nice lake nearby, that's solidly frozen over and I thought..."

"Sounds great! Let's go!" Young Soo cut in, standing up from his chair. Friedli raised his head momentairily, noting the seemingly young nations standing up excitedly.

He decided to shrug it off, more busy with a few political things that needed to be sorted out. The four grabbed their coats and Latvia smiled at Liechtenstein.

"It's a nice idea, to go iceskating." He told her. She smiled back and was about to say something in return, when the telephone rang.

* * *

><p>The leader of the HCS sat in his office chair in AB2, massaging his growing headache. He frowned at the smiling pictures of the last five HCS leaders.<p>

They all had been smooth movers, covering their tracks perfectly and always hiring the best of the best for their dirty work.

However he? What'd he do? He'd messed up. Royally. He could easily blame the criminal empires for this. He couldn't help it, if the underworld had become so pathetic, that the police could easily take all of them on with one hand tied behind their back, blindfolded and unarmed with only one policeman.

However, he, as leader, also knew that it was his own fault. He should have been a better employer. He should have kept a better eye on his prisoners.

He should have done his homework and realised that his prisoners were great conmen and had plenty of tricks up their sleeves.

He should have realised that nations do _not_ give up that easily (especially not to humans) and that they weren't so stupid as to stage an escape without plan.

He could see from what he'd just listed, that there was so much he could have avoided. It was rather painful to look at.

He sighed deeply, sinking into his chair.

Everything that the HCS had manged to build in the last century or so had fallen apart in his own hands.

He had had to abandon AB1, one of the greatest secret, international and illegal military bases in existence, he had lost a lot of information and he had left behind a lot of equipment, data and contacts.

It was almost like having to start from the beginning and having to work your way up again. He sighed in frustration. Why couldn't he have been a good leader like the five previous ones?

Well, there was no point in sulking over spoilt milk. He would have to get the projects running again.

Relying on human hands to recapture escaped nations was failing. Until a few weeks ago, no one from the HCS had found a single one (probably because they were so damn good at hiding), although they'd been searching for them for nearly a _year_.

And now they were popping up all over the place, but not as helpless prisoners with only disadvantages, but as normal people, with the police, friends, jobs and the media to help them out.

Some of them had been able to remember again as well. This meant they were extremely cautious.

It was impossible to catch them now. The only reason it had worked who knows when ago, was because they'd caught the nations off guard. They hadn't even known of their existence back then. They had had the element of surprise.

But now they knew of their existence, and those blasted spies had probably given away where AB1 was... What would happen if they found AB2?

What would be best was to lie low for a while, much like the HCS had after capturing nearly all personifications...

He sighed. If only he _could_ lie low. None of their bases were safe. If some nations had been able to remember, what would stop that _one_ nation from remembering?

That one nation, that had by accident, found and memorised the location of every single blasted HCS base on the stupid planet?

They would be ratted out so fast, he wouldn't know what hit him.

He rubbed the back of his neck, yawning tiredly. It wouldn't do to start panicking now.

He had panicked earlier and ended up abandoning AB1. Had he kept his cool, that wouldn't have ever happened.

"Sir." One of the HCS members asked, opening the door to his office.  
>"Yes?" The leader asked, rubbing his temples tiredly. Oh, how they ached and hurt!<p>

"We can weakly locate England again sir. He's by himself too, so we could easily get him back."  
>"... Is that so?"<p>

"Yes sir."  
>The leader frowned. Another opportunity.<p>

"It's too risky. We don't know what state England is in right now. Does he have his... special abilities back? Does he remember? And how do we know the _good_ people of London, won't come to his aid, much like the good people of _Vaduz_ came to Liechtensteins?"

The man backed away and shrugged. "I don't know." He mumbled. "But if we don't do anything, those nations are sure to come after us."

"They can't idiot, they haven't got their governments to fight for them-"

"Sir... You're forgetting they've all been through more wars than any living man. They know how to fight... And most deffinitely how to torture..." The man said, driting off near the end. "Sir, with great respect, those nations will come after us with or without the help of their governments and I think we'll be worse off if they come after us without them." He added.

The leader looked at the man thoughtfully, before staring at the wall again.  
>"You're right..." The leader muttered, slowly realising something.<p>

He was in a lose-lose situation. There was no winning. Anything to gain had been gained, all they were doing now was keeping nations imprisoned.

Sure, they could try cracking their healing abilities, but it would be near impossible if they kept having to move around like birds, that had to travel from the north to the south and back again throughout the year.

Besides, most scientists didn't have a clue what they were experimenting on any more. They'd forgotten that the prisoners with numbers were actually nations with _names_. Much like the blasted nations themselves.

"This long game of cat and mouse will have to end for now..." The HCS leader muttered, causing the other man to look at him both confused and slightly worried about his leader's sanity.

"What do you mean sir?"  
>"... If we continue like this, we'll end up dead anyway. We're going to have to lie lower than low for a while. I'm disbanding the HCS until further notice."<p>

"What? but sir!"  
>"Leave our captured nations here, abandon them. They can rot here for all I care. They can't remember who they are anyway, so leave them... We'll sell our weapon plans and teleportation to several countries, I hear North Korea would be interested..."<p>

"Actually sir, I think he'd be more interested in escaping us right now..."  
>The HCS leader mentally groaned, but decided to ignore his comerade.<p>

"If I do that, I can retire as a multimillionaire and can watch the nations from afar..."  
>"Sir?"<p>

"Listen man, I refuse to get caught be those nations and then be treated like a criminal."  
>"Sir?"<p>

"Start making preparations to close down this base and contact those countries interested in... High-tech weaponry."

"Yes sir!"*

* * *

><p>England stared at the house in front of him. It was standing by itself and was surrounded by garden, in the outskirts of London.<p>

It was plain simply his kind of house. The flowers had overgrown though, the lawn was overrun by weeds and the hedges... Let's not even _start_ with the hedges.

"Did I really live here?" He asked the fairy, resting on his shoulder. She nodded in response.

"Ireland used to tend your garden while you were gone, but he gave up after a while. He bought the place off your government, when they decided to sell it. He has a cleaning lady pop by once a week to clean your house now. She keeps all your stuff clean."

"Well... That was... Awefully thoughtful of him... I guess."  
>"He also did this for Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland..." The fairy added, but England quickly interrupted, having the feeling the fairy was about to start a lecture that would go on all day.<p>

"How should I get in?" He asked.

"Oh, there's a spare set of keys under the flower pot."  
>"This one?"<p>

"No, the one shaped like a key."  
>"Oh..." England muttered confused, noticing a pot that indeed looked like a key. What a strange pot... And what an even stranger place to put a spare set of keys.<p>

"Does no one tend this... Well, I mean, _my_ garden any more? Not that I like gardens, well I do... But, you know. When I was blind, I could hardly appreciate gardens could I? Does no one tend my garden any more?"

"No, no one tends your garden any more..." The fairy said helpfully.  
>"That'll be a lot of work for me then. I can easily see what I'll be doing for the next few weeks." He picked up the keys and unlocked the door, opening it.<p>

"Hm, it doesn't smell like your home." The fairy commented.  
>"Huh?"<p>

"Oh, this place usually smells like you and anything that reminds one of you... I didn't realise the smell would change..."  
>"So you haven't been visiting this place?"<p>

"The others and I saw no point in visiting it any more." The fairy replied, flying off his shoulder. "So what do you want to do here anyway?"  
>"Explore... I'm curious to what I used to do and what kind of memories I have... Oh."<p>

"What?"  
>"I seemed to have liked needle work before the... Er.. Incident. That's nice to know... Wow, did I really do that?" The fairy felt awkward at this comment.<p>

"England, why not just skip this all and go take a look down memory lane?" She asked, settling down on his head again.

"Huh?"  
>"Look through your photo albums for example?"<br>"Ah, right... Er... Where are they?"

The fairy sighed tiredly. "They're in the library, follow me." The fairy got off his head and flew up the stairs, the brit following her hastily. She tapped on the library door.

He smiled back, opening it slowly. "Wow, when you said library, I thought of maybe one bookshelf, but this..." England commented, his voice trailing off in amazement.

The fairy ignored the Brit as he looked at everything precisely, excited by all the things. The man looked like a child on christmas day.

She flew up to the photo albums, getting ready to pull one out.  
>"Hey, where have the photos gone?"<p>

"Hm?" Was all England asked. He wasn't interested any more. He had pulled out a book about gardening or something and had his nose deep inside it.

The fairy flew across the library, in search of the photo albums, but they were no where to be seen.  
>"Strange... Maybe Ireland removed them? But why would he do that?"<p>

She left the room and searched the other rooms as well, soon noticing that there weren't any photos anywhere. In fact, there was also nothing lying around that was written by England, such as personal letters, governmental letters, poems, receipes and other things.

There was no evidence that this place belonged to England. The fairy frowned and flew downstairs, still searching. Her search was unsuccessful, there wasn't a thing.

Even the world map had disappeared.

_That's so odd..._ The fairy thought to herself, flying back into the hallway, when she heard something. Her head shot up and she saw an old lady opening the door.

She had some cleaning things on her, her face grim. She was muttering something quietly about stupid eccentric people with houses they don't bother to live in.

The fairy suddenly felt very worried. This woman thought the house was empty. She didn't know this place belonged to England! And said Brit was just upstairs...

_Oh, please stay quiet..._ The fairy silently pleaded, as she watched the woman drop her things slowly (and quietly).

England suddenly laughed, as if he knew the fairy had been pleading for him to stay silent (How do you laugh while reading a book on gardening anyway?). The cleaning lady froze and looked up.

_Oh no_... Was all the fairy thought.

* * *

><p><strong>* In which I'd like to mention that there are also a lot of other islands that are a part of the British Isles, but are their own country, such as the Isle of Man. Because they're not really known though, I've decided to leave them out. As said, I'm trying to avoid OCs as best as I can (including countries) and since most forget these islands, that are their own country, I've decided to leave them be. I hope you're all OK with that.<strong>  
>** <strong>Doctor Who reference. Could not resist.<strong>  
><strong>*** For those who don't know, "Lift" is another word for elevator.<strong>  
><strong>**** Latvia, though a more or less sensible nation in comparison to a <em>lot<em> of others, doesn't seem to know when to stop talking. Once he's dug a hole, he keeps digging, at least, that's what I think. This conclusion is what I love about him. I do the same thing _all the time_.  
>*Sugar spice it all! I originally planned for the stupid HCS to go through court! Stupid leader for making smart decision...<strong>

**I am not happy with this chapter. Not at all. I'm not happy with Latvia and South Korea, cause I still haven't got them nailed, and yeah... :(**

**But on a lighter note, oh my goodness, over 75 reviews. O.O I am totally geeking out right now. Thank you everyone who's reviewed so far! (And sorry for not replying to all the reviews from the last chapter. I kinda like did one half, then left it and then thought... OK, who have I already thanked and who not? I'm so SORRY. Please forgive me)**

**Oh, and happy new year! This'll be my last update for 2011 :D  
><strong>

**Review anyone?**

**...**

**Please?  
><strong>


	18. Chapter 17

Japan was sitting opposite of Germany, sorting through the letters and a few other documents they had discovered. America was still sleeping, and although he had tried to wake him up earlier, the American merely shoved the shorter man away.

Now, in most cases, this would have resulted in someone just taking a step or so back, but America, having superstrength, ended up pushing Japan more than hard enough to send him flying across the room.

Even the loud crash didn't wake America up. Germany had heard it though and came to help Japan. After some talking, they decided to start working without America.

He wasn't good at stuff requiring hard work anyway.

First of all, they needed to organise when and where the world meeting would be. Then they needed to pick the topics of discussion. Then they needed to sort those topics in order of importance and when would be best to talk of them.

Robinson had been nice enough to leave them one half of his mansion (honestly, there was no other word for it) to use freely, while he was working in the city.

"I think the dead nations will be something we have to discuss." Germany commented, writing it down on the large whiteboard hanging in the kitchen.

"Hai... Do you think it would be necessary to explain what we were doing yesterday?"  
>"Deffinitely. We'll leave that for America to explain... What if the others came up with something? I mean, China found Prussia, Hungary and Austria, what it they've made more discoveries?"<p>

"We'll leave some timeslots for when the nations attending have something to say... We still need to come up with a place to hold the world meeting..."

"... We could have it in London."

"Germany, you can't place a world meeting in London, just for the sake of seeing your brother again. Besides, who would provide the conference room? Usually anyone from the UK would, but as you know, none of the UK is left. Well, apart from England... And possibly Northern Ireland and Scotland..."

"Entschuldigung, you're right, I'm getting offtrack."

"Right."

"Do you know how the others are right now?"  
>"I haven't heard from them since China called America."<p>

"Hm... Well, depending on whether or not anyone who didn't or still doesn't know what happened to the missing nations, will be attending the world meeting, maybe we should add in explanation to their disappearances?"

"True, true-" Japan's phone started ringing. He looked at the caller-ID, it showing China.

"Hello China-san."  
>"Aiyah... I need a leash for England aru." China moaned over the phone.<p>

"Huh?" Japan asked confused.  
>"I just received a call from the police! Can you believe it? I asked him last night not to leave the room and he goes anyway!" The Chinese man ranted over the phone, frustration laced around his voice.<p>

"Honestly, you take your eyes off him for one _second_ and he disappears. He's almost as bad as some of the younger nations aru!"

* * *

><p>England groaned as his eyes came to focus on the ceiling above him. His head ached, as if a brick had fallen on it and he had no idea where he was.<p>

"Hey, 'England', you awake?" Someone asked him. England groaned again in response, turning over on his side, not wanting to be bothered. His head _really_ hurt.

And for some reason, he _really_ didn't want to be bothered by whoever was talking with him.

"Hey, dude, wake up! I'm bored and being bored's really unawesome, so wake _up_!" The man demanded, giving him a sharp jab in the stomache.

"Leave me alone. Head hurts."  
>"Pff, it's no wonder man. This old lady totally hit you in the back of the head. According to her anyway. She wouldn't stop going <em>on<em> about it, even the cops are starting to lose their patience with her."

"Grmbl... Who're you anyway..."

"Dude, it's me, Gilbert, remember? Heh, thought I'd meet you again at a bar, but not in prison. Funny how things work out. I admit that I did think we _would_ both end up in prison, but I thought that'd be _after_ we had had a few drinks. Hey, why're you here anyway? I don't trust what the old dame says, she seems the type to unawesomely exagerate. I'm in for having one drink too many and uh... Getting a bit excited because of those drinks... What about you?"

"... Dunno." England mumbled, daring to open his eyes. The headache etched away, as if it were healing at superhuman speeds. He sat up and looked at Gilbert, aka Prussia. He gave Prussia a brief scan then looked at his surroundings, noting he was in a cell.

He paled, feelings of fear stirring in him.

"Hey, England, aren't you supposed to be blind?"  
>"I uh... I had a hangover and eye surgery that day."<p>

"Really? Weird. Your friend, Yao, right? He said you were blind."  
>"I told him to tell anyone he met that, because I don't usually get hangovers." England continued lying, backing into a corner.<p>

"Hey, are you OK? You look panicked. And I can tell you right now, that looking like you pissed in your pants is unawesome."

"... I'm claustrophobic?" England half-asked. He knew that being in the cell was making him absolutely frightened, but he didn't know why. So he was unsure whether or not he was lying about being claustrophobic.

"Really?"  
>"No... I have a fear of cells..." He muttered more to himself, holding his brain as suddenly thousands of images flashed through his mind, the earliest dating back to nearly a century ago, the day he went missing.<p>

He let out a quiet whimper, when a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Dude, calm down, it's OK. I have a friend called Klaus, he's German, and he's also got Claustrophobia... Kinda funny isn't it, now that you think about it, Klaus has Claustrophobia... Heh... Anyway, take deep breaths and calm down, OK? Close your eyes and go to your happy place. That's what Klaus does (Even if that's a bit unawesome... Unless I'm the one doing it...)."

England nodded, as he rocked back and forth, just glad that he was no longer in the HCS, but merely in a police station's prison cell in England. Prussia settled down next to him, looking at him with worry and thinking "_This is totally unawesome_."

* * *

><p>Ireland couldn't believe it. He hadn't been to the UK in almost five decades! OK, so the main reason for that was rising tensions between the UK and Ireland, but that was besides the point. He had received a call from Liechtenstein during the night and he was so happy about it.<p>

Yes, that's right, from _Liechtenstein_, one of the _missing_ nations? Sure, it wasn't one of his brothers, but hey! A missing nation! It was still a miracle!

He was currently in London, wearing a hat and trench coat, trying to look inconspicious. His government really didn't want him travelling to Mainland Europe, to visit someone they thought didn't exist. Honestly, Liecthenstein not existing?

He _told_ them he had met her several times before, yet they seemed to think there were like, what? Only seventeen personfications?

Honestly, some people were complete nut jobs. What made this statement worriesome, is that the "_some people_" were the people in _charge_, the only ones that could address him as Ireland.

He rubbed his hands happily, picking up his suitcase. He considered nation-hopping, but decided against it.

He preferred to take the "scenic" route. Besides, where would the fun of escaping his government be if he simply hopped away? He needed this.

He walked down the streets, smirking at the tale-tale CCTV cameras. Even with them, his government had been unable to find him. Not that these CCTV cameras could rat him out. They belonged to the UK, so they were eyes only for the UK.

He continued smirking at them. He found it kind of funny that with cameras everywhere, you were still unable to locate one man.

His phone started ringing. He picked it up cheerfully.

"Hey guys, you still looking for me?" He asked grinning, thinking it was his government.

"Sir, it's me, your cleaning lady! Someone broke into your home, a burglar, I caught him in the act!"  
>"Mrs. Foolsmith?"<p>

"Yes sir, it's me!"  
>"... Someone broke into <em>my<em> house in _England_?" He asked. How dare someone (other than himself) break into one of his brother's homes?

... But maybe it was America? He _had_ broken into the house once in the past... Before he finally shut up about the others. Took his time in doing it... Then again, a missing nation _had _returned, so maybe he was wrong in doubting America.

He'd have to give him a call at some point.

"Yes." Mrs. Foolsmith answered, bringing Ireland out of his thoughts.  
>"Hang on, where are you?"<p>

"At the police station sir. The one nearest to your house?" The woman replied, as if this information would help him.

Well, it wouldn't be helpful to any random stranger anyway. However, it did help Ireland a lot, since England used to send his brothers to the nearest police station if they came to his house uninvited (i.e. broke in) and if England was still able to reach the phone.

"Thank you Mrs. Foolsmith, I will come immediately. I hope you are OK?"

"I'm fine sir, back when I was a young lass*, I used to beat those punks up as if I were merely squishing Marshmellows!" Ireland surpressed a shudder at that comment, feeling that elderly ladies should _not_ be making those kind of comments, but ignored it, since he, himself, _still_ beat punks up as if he were "merely squishing marshmellows" at over 2000 years of age.

"Good. I'll see you there." He hung-up, waving down a taxi. He gave the address, and made himself comfy in the back. The taxi driver tried making conversation, but Ireland gave him a glare that would have made even Russia a bit nervous.

The taxi driver was frightened out of his mind by the glare and didn't talk the rest of the journey. Once at the destination, Ireland gave the taxi driver a small tip, for being quiet a majority of the journey, then entered the police station.

Rather soon, he was allowed to see who the burglar was. Mrs. Foolsmith accompanied him, talking on and on about how she had had to be brave and everything.

He rolled his eyes. The policeman began unlocking the door to the cell.  
>"This is where your burglar is." The policeman said, unlocking the door. He threw it open, only for something hard to be bashed against his head.<p>

It had been a stool that had been placed inside the cell. "Dude, that was frikkin awesome! But you sure that's a good idea to do at a police station?" A German-accented voice asked, while something shot out the cell, looking for an exit, a very bewildered expression on his...

His... Face...

Ireland's thoughts came to a halt, as he looked at the prisoner. The prisoner seemed to notice that there were two objects blocking his way out and then realised these two objects were in fact people.

He then realised that Ireland was there and he blinked in shock. He blinked again and both men stared at each other stunned.

Neither dared to say anything, neither noticing that the co-prisoner was trying to get the burglar to snap out of his stupor, neither noticing that Police were surrounding them, not noticing the gasp from a Chinese man standing behind Ireland.

It took a while, until at least one of them broke out of their stupor.

"... Ireland..." The prisoner said, looking at him, before collapsing on the floor. Ireland quickly raced over, catching him before he hit the floor.

"Heck no way you're back!" Ireland muttered, although the person in his arms couldn't hear him.

"Next time give me some warning, so that I'll know whether to be happy or annoyed about this." He joked, ruffling his younger brother's blonde hair.

"That's one kind of a reaction to seeing someone." Prussia commented. Ireland looked up at him, his eyes widening.  
>"Prussia?" He asked, not sure what was going on.<p>

OK, one nation reappearing. Believable. Two nations reappearing. Wonderful. Three nations reappearing. Sanity is questionable.

Was he losing his sanity? He stood up, helping England stand on his feet, as the Brit slowly came back into conciousness.

"Ireland, may I remind you you are in a police station aru?"  
>"China?" Ireland asked, looking over his shoulder. China nodded and Ireland adjusted England in his arms, so that he could support him better.<p>

"Uh... I'll deal with this." He said to China. "You just wait outside."

* * *

><p>"Why did you call me Prussia?" Prussia asked curiously, not understanding why he'd been called that. England, Ireland and China looked at each other uncomfortably.<p>

The three had sorted out the police business about ten minutes ago. They were now at a small Café, which had run out of coffee. All of them had to drink tea, not that any of them, but Prussia, complained.

On the way there, England had explained to China (carefully leaving out the fairies, much to their frustration) how he had gotten his eyesight and memories back.

"No.. Reason..." China muttered, both Ireland and England turning to talk to each other in hushed whispers. For two brothers that hated each other, they were doing amazingly well in not fighting. Then again, they hadn't seen each other in nearly a century and one thought the other was gone forever, so it was understandable.

No fights until at least the second day.

"Guys, you're lying and that's unawesome. Tell me the _truth_." Prussia demanded. China sighed deeply. Neither of the British Isle brothers were going to tell Prussia anytime soon, Ireland not having a clue what was going on and England wanting to come to grips with what he'd remembered.

"You won't believe us aru. You'll say we're crazy and need to be locked in an asylum. That's what _he_ thought." China replied, pointing at England. Prussia frowned and turned away, feeling irritated that secrets were being kept from him.

Come on, it couldn't be anything that bad. He had friends claiming to be aliens, so it's no big deal, he doesn't go into a sissy fit and claim people insane, cause that's unawesome.

"Yao, we can hardly discuss anything until _he_ knows." England pointed out, joining in the conversation. "I can't keep talking to Ire... My _brother_ in a hushed tone, because _he _doesn't know."

China sighed and looked up at Prussia, who glared back in response, silently daring him to say another word. Ireland cleared his throat.

"Gilbert, I'll tell you, since the other two are too chicken to tell you. You're a nation, well, _ex-nation_, namely Prussia. Nowadays you represent East Germany, sort of. I'm Ireland, he's England and that there's China."

"See, it wasn't that difficult to tell me." Prussia said, cooing at the three as if they were children, who had just told their teacher the truth, instead of a lie.

It made England want to tell Prussia he was a bloody stupid git. He bit his lip and quietly smiled to himself. Oh the relief of finally being_ himse_lf again. He wouldn't have thought like that as Arthur Kirkland.

"Wait, I'm a what now?" Prussia asked, having just processed what Ireland had told him.  
>"Look, aru. For now, let's just pretend you're the ex-nation Prussia, OK? I really can't deal with going through another explaining session. It's too much drama for me aru."<p>

"Agreed." England muttered, staring darkly at his teaspoon. Ireland sighed annoyed, knowing that if no one had the will to explain to him what was going on, he wouldn't get any answers.

Prussia was also annoyed, however it was for different reasons. He really wanted to leave, but these guys had helped him get out of prison with absolutely no problems. The least he could do was do a favour for them. Which would be to hang around and have... Tea... with them. Unawesome.

If you were going to have a coffee break, it should be with coffee and cake. Or beer. Yeah... Beer sounded good...

"Come on Iggy, tell me why you're suddenly back. I want an explanation..." Ireland asked, pocking his younger brother in the ribs. England frowned, pushing the hand away. OK, maybe fights _couldn't_ wait until at least the second day.

"My name's England. Don't call me what that bloody frog calls me." He muttered annoyed.**  
>"Iggy~"<p>

"Ireland, I'm serious!"  
>"So am I! I want to know why you're back! I mean, first I get a call from Liechtenstein-"<p>

"Liechtenstein? You mean you've found her? She disappeared about a week ago!" England said, sitting up. Prussia sank into his chair, and took a manly sip of tea, ignoring the chattering nations in front of him.

He could be annoying the heck out of Roderich right now, but no... He was stuck with them... Then again, maybe he'd have more fun annoying England?

No, no one could surpass the fun he had in annoying Roderich. Apart from Elizabeta perhaps... He started listening in on the conversation again.

"You were in charge of taking care of Liechtenstein? Man, how did I know you'd be a terrible guardian as both a nation_ and_ human?"

"I'm not that bad! I mean, in comparison to other empires (France), I treated my colonies pretty well!-"  
>"Actually, France didn't treat Canada too badly..."<p>

"Stop making up bloody countries too defend your point! Oh no... wait... Canada's... Canada doesn't count anyway!"  
>"And why not? Because he's still part of the Common Wealth? He is his bloody own country and it's high time you take notice-"<p>

"I _didn_'t say he wasn't his own country, I treat Australia like he's his own country, don't I? And he's part of the Common Wealth too! What I meant was-"  
>"Yeah right, you treat him as if he still is a little kid..."***<p>

"Will you two shut up aru! I've already got a headache from the past few days, I don't want to make it larger from to younger nations squabbling like three year olds! Honestly, whoever said 'A man matures with age.' obviously never met you!"

"But he started it!" Both Ireland and England said, pointing at each other. Prussia snickered and looked away, checking out some of the girls passing the Café.

"Enough! Really, why I bother with these things sometimes, I really don't know aru..." He took a sip of his tea and smiled, feeling the hot brew calm him down. An awkward silence settled between the four. China waited until his temper had disappeared, before saying something.

England coughed uncomfortably.

"You said you're in contact with Liechtenstein aru?"  
>"Yeah..."<p>

"Could you call her, I think it's high time we talk with her. Maybe she's figured something out aru..."

* * *

><p><strong>*Lass is the female word for Lad. It's commonly used in Northern England and Scotland (however, it's more common to say Lassie in Scotland).<br>** I read somewhere France is actually the one that calls England Iggy. I just kinda remembered that... Don't ask why.  
>***I know England doesn't mistreat it's ex-colonies. These statements only apply to England, the fictional personification, not England the real, actual country and nation. (Yay, a rhyme)<br>**

**Note on Ireland: I dunno why, but some how Ireland ended up becoming a working class gentleman, or at least, something in that direction. It's probably because I'm subconciously basing him around the only Irish person I know, so yeah... dunno what I'm doing. I hope you like him anyway! :S**

**My only complaint for this story is that it's very fictional, a lot of this wouldn't have happened in the real world... It's a fiction starring nations personified as humans... I don't mean it like that, I mean it's not very realisitc... For example, if someone had been knocked out via violence, like here in this chapter with England, they'd been taken _to hospital_. Honestly. o.o I hope those out there don't find these things as annoying as I do...**

**Oh, and the other... There were several segments that I absolutely loved but ended up removing... WHY? I loved those parts so much, for example, writing China's reaction to seeing England with sight again.. It's kinda still there, since, if you read above, you'll note "A chinese man gasped" or something like that... So yeah... Ah well, never mind.**

**This will probably be the last update for a while, cause I've got a stupid new timetable that sucks and won't have so much time because of that. :(  
><strong>

**Review?  
><strong>


	19. Chapter 18

_"So, you still haven't found those prisoners... What were their numbers? 2, 89 and 54?" England asked, standing next to several HCS guards, dressed as one himself._

_The guards nodded, one muttering "It's really frustrating, because it's like our boss is testing us. Seeing how long it takes us to capture one of them, it _sucks_."_

_"You think he already knows where they are?" England asked curiously, faking surprise._

_"Pf, duh! Nothing escapes him here. It didn't even escape him that Boris, a well respected and_ very_ hygienic scientist working here, picks his nose! I mean come on, who _cares_ for that kinda knowledge?"_

_The other guards nodded in agreement, England shrugging it off.  
><em>

_"Well... See you guys round. I've got a few things to do before I can take my break." England replied, waving them good bye. Once they were out of sight, he hurriedly located the first flight of stairs. _

_The way things were going, he wouldn't find anything useful. He'd already tried a few floors upstairs, but those were always very busy. It was hard to sneak by or pretend to be a coworker without being caught. Besides, most were rooms he'd already been in before, such as the experiment rooms.  
><em>

_He ran down several flights, until he reached a floor beneath the prison cells. He carefully opened it, looking left and right. No one was there._

_Sneaking in, he looked around. Nothing of interest, it was just more halls and more doors, that lead to more rooms, probably stuffed with more useless information._

_This place was almost as bad as a labyrinth, the only difference being that you knew where the entrance to the labyrinth was and therefore, also knew where an exit was._

_In this place, he didn't even know how he got in here. England opened a random door, looking in curiously. It was another office. Sighing, he entered, closing the door behind him._

_He took the helmet (that has a visor) off his head and set it on the desk.  
><em>

_He sat down in the office chair and curiously rumaged through the paperwork._

_He filed through them, frowning.  
>"Chemicals to disable sight on the prisoners short-term..." He read. "... Relations of landmass and population to person." England pulled the paper out of its file after reading this.<em>

_He had a sneaking suspicion he already knew what was in it._

_"Question: Is the person of a nation able to feel pain if the landmass or population is harmed?  
>Experiment: Some bombs were put up in the major cities of Estonia and detonated. The experiment is to observe Prisoner 43 (i.e. Estonia) for reactions to<em> _this_.  
><em>Result:-"<em>

_England stopped reading, stuffing the paper back into its folder. Those bloody damn terrorists. He never liked them, they'd always been trouble-makers and they never made anything better.  
><em>

_He continued through the files on the desk, switching to using the computer. Someone had forgotten to logout and left all the files open for England to scan through._

_"Hang on, what was that?" He muttered, going back to a previous page. It had a blue map of the entire world, with several locations pinpointed with a red circle, next to it, written in red as well, the names "AB1, AB2, AB3, AB4, etc."_

_"AB?" England asked confused. He noted that B probably stood for Base. And all locations were in a place beginning with A... Antartica, Artic, America, Australia, Austria, Afghanistan, Atlantic Ocean, etc._

_England frowned, studying the Bases coordinates and memorising them. If he ever got out, he was _so_ going to blow every single blasted HCS base into tiny smithereens and then do a victory dance on them. _

_OK, maybe not a victory dance, but it sounded like a downright good idea. It wasn't very dignified, but England, though he tried so hard, found it incredibly difficult to stay dignified around the others anyway. Losing it delibrately won't kill him._

_He finished remembering the coordinates, feeling smug that he'd been able to remember the coordinates in such a short period of time (However, he doesn't actually know how much time has gone by)._

_Losing interest in the computer, he went back to shuffling through the paper files again, searching for notes. He found one and pulled it out of the folder.  
><em>

_"How to Kill a..." He froze, staring at the title. "... Nation..." He whispered lowly, unable to merely think it._

_But how's that possible? You can't kill nations, not just like that anyway, I mean, give a nation a fatal injury, they'll recover, heck, if you cut their_ heads_ off... Well, actually, no one really knew what happened then, but a stab through the heart certainly wouldn't kill a nation._

_ Just hurt worse than hell._

_Annoyed, he tore the paper in two and decided to crumple it up as well, until he noticed a gun pointed at his head.  
><em>_Oh dear.._._ He thought, slowly looking up to meet his captor's eyes._

_"Hello Mr. Kirkland, what do you think you're doing?" The HCS Leader asked, a sick grin on his face. England didn't reply, just glaring at him, still sitting in the office chair._

_"Ah, playing silent, hm?" He chided, nudging England's foot with his own one, looking calmly into England's eyes. England immediately pulled his foot away from the other man's one, his glare tenfolding._

_The leader smirked. "Ah, so you _are _still alive, for a moment I thought you had died. Now, unless you want me to kill you, don't move." He ordered. England pushed his back into the chair, his face changing from calm hate to angry hate._

_"As if I'd follow your order." He hissed, kicking the man in the guts. The leader was caught off guard, for a moment absolutely shocked by the blow and England proceeded to kick the man in the guts again, now that the leader was lying crumpled on the floor._

_Usually, England wouldn't hit a man while he was down (unless it was France of course); he thought it was just wrong and cruel to hurt someone when he was already hurting._

_However, he really, _really_ hated the HCS leader right now, so any of his own morals went out the window, leaving glass shards behind._

_The man, in his hurt state, managed to swipe England off his feet, having swung his legs around between kicks and hit England around the ankles._

_England landed with an "oof" on the floor, quickly clambering back to his feet, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulders and heard a loud noise, that would be comparable to thunder._

_He had been shot.  
><em>

_He hissed, holding his shoulder as blood oozed from the wound. He was on his knees. Another bang, another shot; this time on his thigh._

_"Just to make sure you don't try anything." The HCS leader snarled, as he breathed heavily from being beaten up. England glared at the man, trying to get to his feet, but fell back down._

_He frowned, noticing that the wound on his leg was unable to heal, because there was a bullet still being lodged in it. He started searching for the bullet, pain shooting through his whole body as he looked, or rather felt, for it. He had to do this fast._

_After a few agonising minutes, he had managed to remove the bullet (how, no one would know, it was a miracle) and let out a silent sigh of relief._

_He looked up, realising the HCS leader was finishing his call for back-up._

_England slowly tried to get back to his feet, as quietly as possible, in hopes that he might be able to escape, but the HCS leader whirled around immediately, gun pointing at England again._

_"Don't bother. You're caught, admit defeat." England glared at him._

_He couldn't get caught now, he still had to find an exit! ... But what if Japan and... What was it again... That nation... Canuska or something, had already found an exit? Then his struggle would be for nothing._

_England bowed his head, his hands falling to his sides in silent surrender. He couldn't stand there for long, soon losing his balance and collapsing back into the chair behind him. The leader smiled and came over, not that England noticed. His wounds were  
><em>really_ starting to hurt now. Especially the one in his shoulder._

_He jerked when he felt something sharp jab into his neck. His hand immediately shot up to rest on it. He lowered the hand to see blood. The bloody idiot had jabbed him in an artery in the neck and it was now bleeding.*  
><em>

_"That's better, was it really so difficult?" The man cooed, leaning over him, a satisfied grin on his face. England resisted the very strong urge to punch him.  
>"What did you do? What was that?" He demanded, struggling to sit up in his wounded state. The leader forced him back in the seat.<em>

_"Just to make sure you're not all healthy, nice and dandy by the time my back-up arrives." The leader replied, a sickening smile on his face. England found himself pushing himself back into the seat again, trying to keep the man as far away from himself as physically possible.  
><em>

_"Ah, there's my back-up coming." The HCS leader muttered, his head rising at the sound of patting feet. England heard it too, but pretended not to care. The HCS leader stood up straight again and winced, pain shooting through his body. He frowned and touched the places he'd been hurt in gently. He winced again and let out a low growl. Stupid Prisoner..._

_"It wasn't a good idea to beat me up you know... If I remember correctly..." He leaned on the chair with his arms, hovering over England._

_"... Your name is England, isn't it."_

_The man stated this, he didn't ask._

_"You have no bloody right to use my name." England replied, now looking up to glare at him. The man ignored this and pushed the chair away, it thudding against the wall, along with England._

_Just then some HCS guards entered, looking at England puzzled. Wasn't that one of their coworkers? Why was he wounded?_

_"Detain him." The HCS leader ordered. The men stood their limply, the uniform England was wearing baffeling them completely. Annoyed, the HCS leader repeated himself, adding in "That's an _order_, in case you idiots haven't noticed!"_

_Immediately they sprung to life and forced England to his feet, half dragging him to the door. England tried to struggle, but found that he was too weak and tired._

_Damn, those wounds deffinitely weren't helping him. And the fact they'd be healing at human speeds wouldn't be helping._

_He sighed deeply. Back to being stuck in a cell, isolated from the world... Not that him escaping by himself was part of the plan, but whatever._

_The HCS leader hovered over the computer. He turned white when he saw that the file to the coordinates of every HCS-base was open._

_His head shot up and seemed to look at England frustrated, England glaring back.  
>"You better not..." He whispered half to himself.<em>

_England smirked at the fear on the HCS leader's face and stuck his tongue out. Right now he didn't care how childish that act was, it was annoying the heck out of the HCS leader._

_The man frowned and sat down, quickly clicking a few things on the computer, before a smirk crossed his face._

_"Prisoner 54, I think you're a bit too cocky for my liking. Obviously, you haven't broken yet, unlike the others. But, to my great luck, you're an idiot. Don't you know? Unless you work here, you'll _never_ find an escape." He grinned, ruffling England's hair._

_England shook his head in response, as if to shake the man's hand off._

_"Guards, follow me." He ordered. The guards looked at each other puzzled._

_"Aren't we going to take him to join Prisoner 2?"_

_Prisoner 2? Wasn't that that guy... Er... Cunoda?  
>"You will follow any of my orders and will <em>not_ question them." The two immediately nodded and dragged England behind themselves, as they trod after their leader._

_England noted that there were four guards in total. Give him any other day and he'd have beaten the crap out of them as if he were merely swatting a fly... But he was so... Why did he feel so tired? Blood loss? Impossible... But then again..._

_"Stop! Open this door." One of the guards jumped out and opened it, and everyone entered. England gasped as he looked at the thing inside the room. Or rather, the person. He opened his mouth to say the perosn's name, but his throat had turned dry, he was unable to speak.  
><em>

_"Now, if I remember correctly, this man is one of your friends." The HCS leader asked, folding his arms. England was still unable to say anything. "Let him go." The HCS leader ordered, the guards immediately letting England go._

_"P... Por..." England stuttered, as he slowly walked up to the glass chamber, as if in a trance. "What did you do to him?" England demanded, turning to glare at the HCS leader._

_He merely grinned, making England pale. England remembered seeing the title_ "_How to Kill a Nation_"_ in the folders he'd been filing through. The title echoed in his head._

_"No... No, it... No..." He stuttered, as he looked between the human and the nation. "Portugal!" He yelled, his hand bashing against the glass, in hopes that the nation, that seemed to be asleep, would wake up. _

_"No, he can't be... It can't be, you can't kill like that!" The words kept coming out. "He can't be..." He gabbled. He leaned against the glass chamber, his finger tips touching the place were Portugal's own finger tips touched it. "No..." He whispered in disbelief.  
><em>

_"You can't be..."_

_Suddenly, he was spun around and pressed against the glas chamber, two menacing eyes glaring at him._

_"Listen carefully. Do not test my patience ever again. Or you will end up like him."_

_England stared at the leader completely shocked for a moment, before he settled for giving him a death glare again. "You b-" He began, only to be inturrupted._

_"Ah, ah, ah. Do _not_ test my patience." England frowned. The HCS leader grabbed the hem of his HCS uniform and threw him back to the HCS guards._

_"Take him to Prisoner 2. Now all we have to do is track down Prisoner 89." The HCS leader announced storming out of the room. _

_England stared at Portugal's frozen figure. He couldn't be dead, it wasn't possible! He struggled, but the guards kept a firm grip on him. _

_They dragged him several floors up, him struggling all the way, just to make it difficult for them. On the way, everyone gave them odd looks, thinking that England was working for the HCS, the way he was dressed._

_They sat him down on a chair and chained him to it. Then they left. He was alone in a room, bleeding, hurting physically and in a mental turmoil._

_Portugal... Dead? But... Nations... They can't be dead... No... How many had they killed? Those rooms he passed, how did he know they didn't contain more dead nations? What if they were the only ones left, what if they're all dead?_

_It can't be... It can't be... It can't be... _It can't be... It can't be...

"It can't be..." England whispered quietly, tears sliding down his face.** Oh. He had said that out loud. England opened his tired eyes. After Prussia had left them again, this time utterly convinced they were insane, they had returned to the hotel rooms and talked to Germany and Japan.

The afternoon had been incredibly busy. They had organised the world meeting and set where it would be (it'd be in London, England's house).

After that, they proceeded in moving back into England's home, since it'd be cheaper. They also needed to prepare it for the upcoming meeting.

England frowned his head in the pillow. Although he'd recovered most of his memory, it wasn't quite all there yet.

His memory was kinda like a book review right now. He had the basic summary of it, but absolutely no details.

Which made him have occasional flashbacks.

Apparently, he recovered whole bricks of memory during the night though. He looked around his room and shuddered. It was almost creepy how absolutely nothing had changed in it within the decades he'd been gone.

It was like he had stopped changing with his people, which is a considerably bad sign. Detachments often meant you were probably going to be replaced soon.

Isn't that what technically happened to the Roman Empire or something? He couldn't really remember, he had been pretty young back then and early memories had always been a bit of a fuzz, whether or not because he'd been drugged into not remembering.

He knew why he hadn't been able to remember now. The dosage of drugs that made a nation forget had been far stronger with him.

It had taken something emotionally sensitive to him to help him filter the drugs out completely, if that conclusion was logical.

Ireland and him had a pretty upsetting history together.

It was long and it was bloody.

And it happened to be sensitive enough for England to remember (which made him wonder why he hadn't remembered with America... Then again, they had patched quite a few things up since then).

He sighed, closing his eyes. He had thought the last two weeks had been a living hell. He'd been very, very wrong. This week, so far, had been the worst.

Tiredly he yawned, turning to stare at the ceiling. That's right. Portugal was dead. He needed to figure out a way of telling Spain this, without having an Armada 2 attack his country.***

He relaxed in his duvets. Man, he hated that HCS leader. He had invaded his private space who knows how many times during their brief encounter and he had killed who knows how many nations...

He sighed again. Oh, how he hated that man right now.

* * *

><p>"Gilbert, where have you been?" Roderich asked annoyed from the sofa. Gilbert shrugged in reply, and flopped onto the sofa right next to him. Elizabeta frowned at him.<p>

"Gilbert, don't make me get the frying pan. Answer Roderich's question." Gilbert muttered something about stupid girls eith stupid crushes, before turning to look at him.

"You know those guys we bumped into yesterday?"  
>"Yeah?"<p>

"I met them again today, they're the ones that bailed me out, so that you didn't have to."  
>"So that's where you've been."<p>

"But they're unawesomely weird. Claimed I was a country... Er... Trussia? Mmh, something like that. Weirdos. They're a total laugh though, they're totally serious about this whole country business."

"What strange people." Roderich commented. He continued reading the newspaper in his hands. Gilbert turned the TV on. And thus, all forgot about the strange occurance from that day.

* * *

><p><strong>* I really have no idea how much blood would bleed from an artery in the neck if a needle had been stabbed in it once, but I know it'd deffinitely bleed. A bit.<br>**It is possible to cry while sleeping/dreaming. I've done that three times before, each time when I was having a nightmare. It's really not pleasant, trust me.  
>***Trust me, England was <em>not<em> thrilled about the Armada. He was quite nervous about it, to say the least. And really, although he won, historically, one of the guys to have beaten the Armada said that it wasn't a victory, because too many sailors (from both sides) were broken, a lot had defeated faces and empty looks. It's very sad really. :(  
><strong>

**I had waaaaaaaay too much fun writing this chapter. o.o I'm a bit worried I made Iggy a bit too much of a "hero"-type character (i.e. not villainous, neutral or anti-hero), but thinking about it, all fanfiction writers fail to get a character that's not theirs completely correct.  
><strong>

**Anyway, in my head, I'd say Portugal is Englands best (and by that, I mean something along the lines of only) friend (or at least, one of the only people England would refer to as a friend). Portugal and England, you see, have the worlds longest alliance. What I think's funny about that, is that according to my information resource, Portugal always responded to England's call for help, but when Portugal asked for help, England didn't do anything or at least, didn't do much at all. And the alliance _continued_ existing, even though England didn't help! Funny, huh?  
><strong>

**I hate writer's who overreact when given just a tiny, winy bit of good old fashioned critism. I was given something that isn't _even_ critism and I threw a hissy fit. I am soooooooo sorry for that guys. Made my interest in the story faulter and I cannot believe I'm one of those kind of people. =.=" Fail on my half. I should get a tougher skin and stop being so sensitive.**

**Because this chapter essentially only involves England (and the HCS leader-OC (STILL NAMELESS)), I added in an extra scene of normality, to tune things down a bit. **

**Review?  
><strong>


	20. Chapter 19

It was morning. A lovely one too. For once, the sun was actually shining in London, rather than hiding away behind clouds like it usually did. And also, it wasn't terribly windy, like it often was there.* The snow, covering the whole place, only added to the beauty, it glistening in the sunlight.

Liechtenstein looked at the streets, watching as foreigners, British and English** alike lead their average, normal human life, going to work, or school or some other thing, that may be considered not so average and normal to other people, such as skipping school or taking part in a flash mob.

She looked back, to see Sealand and South Korea both excited, pointing at things and making remarks, sometimes comments on their origins.

Latvia was quietly watching the people, particularely the ones that were accompanied by their family. She could tell he probably wanted one...

Even as a human, Latvia wanted a brother or sister... Sweet really.

She looked back out the window, letting the excited chatter from South Korea and Sealand wash over her. She was going to be with adult nations soon, so she no longer had to worry about these problems any more.

Herr Friedli had been kind enough to give her both unofficial and official records on herself, although the papers barely filled one folder (which is strange, since she knew it should be quite large. Not nearly as big as, say, Italy's, but still big).

He explained he would like to continue helping her, but everything was getting too out of hand for him and he'd end up only getting in the way.

He had other things to do as well, him being your normal Swiss Guard and not part of the secret sector, which helped protect or help out the nations (more like keeping them and getting them out of trouble). He had to go back to doing his job.

The ride over to London hadn't been too difficult to organise, considering the short notice and complications.

And she had managed to talk Ireland and China into paying for their flights. She would be happy to see them, though she didn't really know them that well.

She usually hid behind Switzerland and didn't talk much to nations that weren't really neighbouring her, she barely knew the nations in Europe, let alone nations the ones outside of it.

Germany would be there, so it wouldn't be so bad... Right?

Her mind was with Switzerland again, as she recalled a world meeting memory. Was he OK? She hoped he was...

She hadn't seen him since since he last told her to run... She heard him last, when she froze on the staircase and he snapped "Run"...

How had he known she had stood still anyway? ... He probably knew her that well.

She sighed. Latvia noticed her sad mood.

"Ah, miss Lilli, are you OK?" He asked, his friends not noticing them at all. She looked up and gave a polite smile.

"I guess I'm just a little tired, that's all." She admitted.  
>"You must hate travelling. I mean, since you're tired from just this little trip... No wait, you <em>are<em> tired because of that, right? I mean, why else wouldn't you be tired? Wait... It's normal to feel tired after travelling, no matter how long, so-"

"It's fine. I guess I might be tired from travelling..." Before she could continue, the taxi driver stopped the car, gaining the attention of everyone within it.

"You're at your destination." The man said in a cockney accent, his "your" sounding more like a "yer" for example.

The four scrambled out of the car and got their things out. They turned to see England's house... Which quite frankly looked gigantic.

But still too much of a house to be anything other than a house... Just a very large one.

They grabbed their things and walked up to the door, knocking on it. Ireland opened the door and smiled at them.

"Hi guys, I've been waiting for you." He greeted, a forced smile on his face. He looked at the four, his gaze settling on Sealand for a while, before showing them in. Sealand and South Korea started chattering excitedly again, having noticed the... Englishness... Of the house.

"So England and China have prepared your rooms already. You guys are pretty lucky I own the place right now, Iggy would have been absolutely against any guests staying here." Ireland continued, not noticing the loud chatter behind him, walking upstairs.

He showed them their rooms, which they hurriedly entered. Sealand, Korea and Latvia would be sharing a room, Liechtenstein got her own one.

She turned to look at the Irish man and asked "Where _are_ China and England?"

"I'm not really sure. I think they went to get some supplies for the world meeting tomorrow, they should be back soon."

"There's going to be a world meeting tomorrow?"  
>"Well yeah... I thought someone you knew..."<p>

"Well, yes, it's just that I didn't realise it was an actual world meeting..." Liechtenstein explained, sinking into herself. Ireland smiled warmly and patted her on the head.

"It's no problem. Now, why don't you unpack?" Liechtenstein nodded politely and Ireland turned to leave.

"... Not to be rude, but what happened to you?" Ireland suddenly asked, just as she began to unpack. She glanced to him and gave him a polite (and possiby shy) smile.

"Well, it's a long story."  
>"Well OK, maybe not then. Maybe when the others are around."<p>

Liechtenstein nodded. "Mr. Ireland-"  
>"Ireland."<p>

"Pardon?" Liechtenstein asked, caught off guard.

"Just call me Ireland. Never got used to having a title. Even if it is just 'Mister'."

"OK, I'll remember that Mr- Er... Ireland." Ireland smiled, silently asking Liechtenstein to carry on what she was going to say.

"Ireland, do you know if there is an ice rink nearby?"

* * *

><p>Elizabeta watched the TV with unbelievably mild interest. It was her day-off and she had no plans for the day. Roderich had already cleaned up the whole house and both room-mates were off either working at the Radio Station or...<p>

Well, she wasn't entirely sure what Gilbert did during the day, but she didn't care. As long as it was legal.

She was watching BBC news, since there was nothing else on. They were talking about the Euro-crisis again, even though it wasn't much of a crisis, since it had started all the way back in the late 20th century or something like that (her history wasn't brilliant, so it was OK for her to be wrong).

Eventually, they finished and moved onto a new topic.

"_... Two days ago, a girl in Vaduz, Liechtenstein was viciously attacked and almost kidnapped by a small group of men, aged between twenty and fifty._

_The girl luckily got away unharmed; she was rescued by a Lukas Friedli, who had rallied several citizens together and ambushed the place she was being kept prisoner._

_Nothing is known on what happened to her after the rescue. No eye witnesses ever found out her name._

_However, she dropped her purse in the field where she was persued, and was identified as Lilli Kirkland***, an American citizen, which made this an international case._

_It is unclear how a pupil could be in Liechtenstein during mid-term, however, these questions seem only minor, when compared with the mystery of the men who tried to kidnap her."  
><em>

Elizabeta watched with interest, now sitting up. She felt a bit guilty, that she had a murder-mystery interest. She always felt like she was treating the victims as fictional characters, rather than living, breathing people.

She sighed, ignoring her discomfort and focused on the news report.

"_They were taken to the police and disarmed. However, the police discovered that their weapons, including gadgets, are not normal. In fact, several experts go so far as to say, the weaponry is highly advanced. _

_The men arrested refused to speak, however, from what was stripped from them, the governments of Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the USA have discovered that they are a part of either a criminal group or a cult. _

_They were wearing uniforms, with logo's on them, suggesting that an organized criminal group is more likely. As far as we know, the name of the group is HCS, for what it stands for, no one knows..._"

Elizabeta frowned at this. HCS? Those three letters made her want to kill someone... But why? Ignoring her nagging, she continued listening.

"_An undercover journalist managed to find out more information on the matter, such as what kind of weaponry the men were carrying and..._" The reporter drawled on, pictures flashing on the TV, that the undercover journalist had taken.

As soon as Elizabeta saw the pictures, she pushed herself into the sofa she'd been sitting on, her eyes tearing open in horror, as something flashed before her eyes...

Memories...

She remembered screaming, yelling, pleas, anger, torture, pain, rage, suffering, and blood... Ooh, the blood... It had tainted the otherwise white experiment rooms shades of beautiful red.

She remembered how everytime she saw the experiment rooms, they were clean and white, as if blood had never coloured them red.

... As if the many tortures and deaths had never happened.

She bent over, clutching her stomache, feeling something vile and horrible climbing up her throat. She covered her mouth to stop the bile from coming out and found herself crying uncontrollably.

Why was she crying? Why?

She only saw red and heard screaming, she wasn't sure if it was her voice or someone elses. Was she imagining it?

Why did she only see red? Why could she only hear screaming? What did those cold white rooms have to do with her?

She was distressed and she desperately needed comfort, only, nations don't get comfort. They're expected to recover by themselves...

Wait, where was this nation stuff coming from?

But before she could ponder long, she found more nightmaric scenes unfolding in her mind, as she clutched her head, tearing at her hair.

What was this? What is this? Was she having a nightmare? A night _terror_? Had she just suddenly gone insane?

What did Gilbert always say to do if in fear?

_You should go to, what Klaus calls, your "happy place". Essentially just think of times you were happy or were with people or doing stuff that made you happy... It's unawesome really, but whatever rocks your boat I guess..._

Think of happy people, think of happy things, think of happy times...

_"Miss Hungary, the thunder is scary..." A small voice piped up, stirring the brunette from her sleep._

_And she had been so close to finally falling into sweet, sweet oblivion!_

_She looked up to see a small boy, clad in a white night shirt, standing by the door. He was holding his hands together nervously, and she found herself smiling at him, even though she had been unbelievably annoyed just seconds ago._

_She slipped into older-sister-mode**** without even realising it.  
>The boy continued quietly "Could I stay with you tonight?"<em>

_"Of course you can! You're always welcome to stay when you're scared, sad or alone!" She replied, opening her arms wide and invitingly. _

_The boy ran up to her and jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly, while a happy smile adorned his face._

_"Thank you miss hungary!"  
>"What are older sister's for?" She asked happily, as she covered both herself and the little boy with her blankets, her own smile on her face.<br>_

The memory faded away, but Elizabeta searched for a new one.

_In this memory, she just stood nearby, watching as Austria played the piano, her ears relaxing to the sounds of the notes he played, with unbelievable gentleness and warmth, that she sometimes forgot he had._

_Her mind unfocused, as she let the music swallow her up and she felt herself fall endlessly._

_It wasn't scary falling, it was nice, because she knew that when she stopped falling, when the music stopped playing, someone or something was there to catch her at the end and it wouldn't be gravity._

_And so she let the music surround her and take all her burdens and fears away..._

Elizabeta could feel her worry disappearing, as she tuned in to the specific sounds of the piano, the tune echoing in her mind, replacing the nightmarish scenes she'd seen merely seconds ago.

She sighed contently, as the terrors faded away. The TV was still babbling on, but she didn't hear it any more. Now that she could hear soothing piano playing (which kind of reminded her of Roderichs), she had time to figure out what had happened.

She closed her eyes and replayed the images slowly, carefully avoiding the ones that had sent her mind reeling.

She flipped through her (returning) memories, until she saw someting that helped her understand everyhing.

She saw herself, standing tall, brave, daring, a cocky grin on her face (and was that a frying pan in her hand?), the image screaming out only one word.

Hungary.

Her eyes snapped open in a flash, as she leaned forward and held her head, feeling like she was having a huge brainfreeze.

She gripped the sofa firmly, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, as millions of memories flashed before her eyes; at least ten lifetimes worth of memories.

She gasped for air. She took a deep breath and looked up at the TV. She looked above it, at the mirror.

And there she saw herself.

No longer the British woman, Elizabeta Hedervary, who had been rescued from drowning in the Thames, along with two other men.

She was the proud nation, Hungary.

"... Oh." She said, as she stared at the place, where her orange flowers usually sat. She'd have to find some new ones...

Hungary closed her eyes...She had her memories and knowledge back, however some of it was still pretty fuzzy.

She matched the TV report she had just heard with the memories of the HCS.

So, they had stupidly made themselves public, huh?

How could they make such a pathetic mistake and yet some how capture and hold prisoner the entire world for several decades?

This was just embarrassing.

She remembered seeing England, but he had been blind...

Oh yeah, on the day they escaped he'd still been blind... He had had a guide to help him escape, one of his brothers... Er... Scotland? Yeah, that's the one.

She also remembered China being with him, meaning that they had already contacted the ones that hadn't been taken away...

Even if they _were_ a year late in contacting the non-prisoners.

She should contact England or something and get involved in their plans. They obviously were plotting something.

She didn't really have any helpful information on the HCS, but she wanted to be there when they tore them apart limb by limb or with a frying pan and wok.

She sighed. She hated the HCS, they had taken Prussia first and he'd practically been a skeleton when they were trying to escape.

Since he was the first to be caught, he also went through far more inhuman experiments than the rest. It was amazing how he had even survived...

Well, Prussia had always been a stubborn one. When Prussia was officially dissolved, everyone expected him to fall ill and slowly fade away or something, but he had stayed on and soon represented the Eastern part of Germany.

He was too stubborn to die. And if he _was_ going to, he'd make sure it wasn't at the hands of a human. Or humans.

A smirk danced on her face, as she recalled yesterday.

"_... They were convinced I was some kinda nation... Er... Trussia or something. How unawesome is that?_"

Oooh, she was never going to stop teasing him about that...

It soon occured to her that neither Austria or Prussia remembered who they were.

Oh well... She could work around that. Heck, she was Hungary, she'd get them to do as she told them to, no buts, no whens, no ifs. They always did as she told them to anyway, so it wouldn't matter much.

She chewed at her fingers nervously.

Who had made it out of the HCS base? She hadn't thought of it, but she didn't know who got out. Did Japan? Or Taiwan? Or... The Czech Repbulic? Turkey? Greece? _Russia_? _Romania_?

She reached for her phone and called Prussia. She needed China's phone number asap. Maybe they knew, after all, who had managed to escape the grisely fate of dying at the hands of a human.

* * *

><p>Canada was finally off the plane. He was with America, Japan, Germany, Spain and the last of the South Americans, now busy waving taxis over.<p>

At first, Canada had tried to help, but unfortunately, it seemed that being a nation again meant that his dreaded invisibility had returned (not that it had completely gone as a human).

He hated not-being seen, it was unfair! He had done plenty of memorable things! He had gotten his independence _without_ (much) violence and managed to keep a more or less good relationship with England, he had held the Winter Olympics in 2010 and he had had Germany running from him (screaming) during both World Wars*!

Now he couldn't even wave down a taxi. It was depressing, how no one ever noticed him. The taxis did notice America, who was running around like an idiot, whistling far too loud for his liking, while trying to catch a taxi. He muttered something about England having stupid taxi services, but continued with his efforts.

At some point, Germany took over, with the help of Japan and they successfully waved down three taxis, enough to carry everyone.

Canada frowned and climbed into one of the taxis, sharing it with America and Japan, however, he was being (unintentionally) ignored.

He sighed deeply, and looked out the window.

Well, it wasn't so bad, being invisible. You learned an awful lot about different people after all...

* * *

><p><strong>*I've been in London several times before, and every time it was either cloudy, raining or incredibly windy. Kinda like how it was in Paris, minus the wind. o.o (Cause I've been to Paris too~)<br>** Foreigners can't become English. They CAN become British. Just not English. Trust me, I know.  
>*** Liechtenstein couldn't remember her human surname and since she ended up being found with Iggy, she was given his human surname (since everyone thought they were related in some way).<br>**** Hungary was once described as Italy's (probably adopted) older sister.  
>* I heard somewhere, that Canadians were pretty vicious during one of the world wars. I can't remember which one though, so bare with... For not being bothered to research. =.="<strong>

**No Iggy or Meri in this chapter. What's up with that?  
><strong>

**Ireland is an OC, so there is no thing as OOC for him... Yes, he shoulda had more of a reaction to Sealand, bu whatevs, yah know? Now, I know, some parts of this chapter are brilliant, some... Not so good... But I'm ill, OK? I overworked myself (oops) and am now ill... And yes, I've done smarter things before. I'll try to make the next chapter better (and I'll try to update sooner!)**

**dsljfaslkfjasdjfgölj 100 reviews foewijsofijlskdnfaw  
><strong>


	21. Chapter 20

"Hm, it seems they're out." Germany commented, picking up the note Ireland left behind.

"Dude, that's totally OK, I happen to know where Iggy hides his spare keys!" America said (more like shouted), as he walked over to an inconcspicious looking flower pot (shaped like a key) and picked it up.

"Amerika, England hasn't lived here in decades; it belongs to Ireland now. Who's to say that the spare key would still be where you usually find-"

"Dude, it's totally OK. Even if it weren't there, I could just simply break the door down or something..."  
>"That wouldn't be very considerate." Japan spoke up.<p>

America picked up the keys from underneath the flower pot and shrugged.

"England's never complained before." The others gave America an unconvinced look.

He, Germany, Spain and Japan (and Canada, not that anyone remembered he was even there... A sign things were going back to normal) had decided to see how the preparations were going for the world meeting tomorrow, the South Americans deciding to do a bit of sight-seeing, having not really left their countries, let alone continent, in a while.

They also wanted to continue chatting about the nation-nap mystery, which they wouldn't be able to do around the nations already neck-deep in the situation.

The split from the South Americans served well for Germany, Japan and America, who were still figuring out small details on how to break the news to everyone, on who was dead and who was possibly alive (since, as it turned out, the letters didn't match up to the amount of used pods, containing... dead... nations)

They entered, immediately looking around for the others. China had told them that someone would always be at home in England's house, preparing things, but right now, it was empty.

Japan noticed a note lying on the surface of a nicely placed table, littered with empty picture frames and a lamp. He stared at the empty frames uncomfortably, remembering why there were no photos there any more.

He picked up the note and read it out loud.

"Ireland, I and England are going to go shopping for a few things before the meeting tomorrow (aru). We may be a while, so don't wait up. - China"

"So what are we supposed to do until one of them comes back?"  
>"We could always raid the fridge!"<p>

"America, stop thinking of your stomach for once."  
>"Germany, we could always just... "help" prepare for the meeting tomorrow." Japan suggested.<p>

"But we don't know where the room is... England doesn't like having meetings in his house, and when he does, it's only ever meetings about "internal" problems." Spain said, frowning.

"Guys, I know where the conference room probably is..." Canada piped up.

"... Did you hear something?"  
>"Nein, you're probably imagined it."<p>

"No, I'm sure I heard something!"  
>"Hai, I must agree."<p>

"Guys, it was me-" Canada said, trying to gain their attention. Everyone turned to him, surprise on their faces.

"Where did you come from?" Spain asked, a smile on his face.  
>"I-I've been here the whole time..." Everyone stared at him awkwardly, a mixture of "No <em>way<em> were you here the whole time" and "Oh my gosh, he's been here the whole time and I've completely failed to notice!" on their faces.

Canada continued speaking, before they forgot his existance again.

"I think I know where the conference room is... Back in my colonial days, I sometimes was allowed to attend meetings England held here..." Canada explained, slowly.

"Dude, you were also a British colony?" America asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. Canada's face fell completely, his mouth hanging open slightly.

He was about to snap something angrily(well, it'd come out as more of a harsh whisper, not that Canada would ever know, bless the poor guy), when Germany interrupted.

"Could you show us the conference room?"  
>"... Yeah, follow me." He said softly, and shuffled awkwardly away, leading them to the room.<p>

* * *

><p><em>He's such an idiot.<em> Hungary complained in her thoughts, looking at her phone, lying abandoned on her bed.

Prussia- Er... Gilbert? No, she refused to call him anything but Prussia.

Prussia had hung up on her, just as she was asking if he could give her China's phone number.

He had said something about her being desperate, the guys she was trying to contact being insane and that he wasn't even sure what gender Yao had.

And yes, this made her beyond mad.

Firstly, she wasn't desperate, secondly... No, Prussia was right there. And... yeah... Prussia was right about his third statement...

Though Yao was a guy, there _were_ moments when people questioned his gender.

But the first statement? She was _not_ desperate! And certainly not for them... Ew.

Well, maybe a little bit, but that was normal for a woman like Hungary.

But back on topic.

Prussia had refused to give her the stupid number... And she knew he'd done that mostly to annoy her. (She wasn't sure if there was any other reason, but she should give him the benefit of the doubt)

She sat there deep in thought (more like in rage), deciding she'd have to figure out where China and England were staying and... _drop by_... She looked at the clock hanging in the living room.

It would probably be of more benefit to wait for Austria and Prussia to come back though... Austria and Prussia were both going to be home in the evening, so she could have a... Talk with them then. Or at least, get them to ditch their jobs for a day.

Prussia should be relatively easy, Austria, possibly some what more difficult... Nah, what's she saying? He's a pushover too.

As much as she'd like to make contact with the others as soon as possible, she realised that this was obviously not going to be the case.

She sighed.

Well, she'd better get cracking at tracking two nations down.

Fun.

* * *

><p>Raivis' legs were shaking like crazy, as he quite badly tried to skate over the ice, his arms spread out wide, flailing around like crazy, everytime he moved a tiny bit.<p>

Peter and Yong Soo weren't helping in the least, too busy racing each other across the ice at what he thought were dangerous speeds.

He let out a little wimper, as he tried balancing himself. If he weren't shaking so much, he'd probably make a pretty decent skater, but for some reason, the ice was making him incredibly nervous...

As if he'd had a really bad experience with it... Or maybe multiple experiences?

Lilli appeared by his side, skating gracefully next to him.

"Mr. Raivis, are you OK?" She asked. He stared at her, with big round eyes and shook his head.

"I... can't really move... I haven't actually been iceskating before, unlike Yong Soo and Peter..." _Or at least, if I have, I don't remember that. I think I may have, since the ice is, as it looks, subconciously reminding me of something I'd rather not remember...  
><em>

"That's a very honest thing for you to say Mr. Raivis."  
>"Gah, did I say that thought out loud?"<p>

"I... Thought you were intentionally doing so." Lilli replied, looking at the ice beneath them. "Anyway, if you wish, I could help you skate." She said, holding out a hand.

Raivis looked at it, a hint of suspicion in his eyes. Before he could accept the helping hand, Peter and Yong Soo both skated to a stillstand next to them.

"Hey Raivis, why aren't you skating too?" Yong Soo asked, having obviously not noticed Raivis' lack of movement earlier.

"Can't you skate?" Peter asked.

"I... Er... No..." Raivis stuttered.  
>"Well why didn't you say! We'll help! Cause helping people is something totally Korean*"<p>

"Nah, that's an English** thing..."  
>"I would think Latvian..."<p>

"Isn't it simply a Human thing?" Lilli asked, disturbing the three from a discussion bound to turn into a loud discussion, that then progressed into an agruement.

The three stared at her mutely, before nodding slowly, in agreement.

"C'mon, grab our arms Raivis, we'll promise not to let you fall!" Yong Soo said encouragingly.  
>"We'll only let you crash into a few walls." Peter added cheerfully, causing Yong Soo to laugh and Raivis to chuckle nervously.<p>

Without anything else said, Raivis found his arms suddenly in a tight wrap between his two friend's arms, as they skated at high speeds around the rink.

He paled, too nervous to let out a scream of fear, not that it would have been heard over his friend's laughter. He could hear Lilli skating behind them, trying to say something, but being too soft and sweet to be heard.

_I shouldn't have gone iceskating, I shouldn't have gone iceskating, I shouldn't have gone iceskating..._ Raivis continously repeated in his head, as he recalled how he had thought ice-skating had been a generally good idea earlier.

Off the rink, in the ice-skating café, Ireland observed the four, as they skated, drinking a particular type of hot chocolate, called "Sailor Ahoy"*** or something. Basically, it had rum.

The reason he was drinking a hot chocolate with alochol in it, was because he didn't like being seen drinking publically. Disguising the alcohol in the form of hot chocolate was a pretty good way to hide it.

You see, he had had an arguement with Wales about his (and the others') drinking habits once, which Wales had unfortunately won too. The Welshman had made all of his brothers go on cold turkey for a year and whenever he caught any of them drinking alcohol before seven, he'd make them go on cold turkey _again._ Even if they were having the alochol with food (example, red wine with steak).

It was because of Wales that he stopped enjoying drinking at any time of day in public, him always fearing Wales would suddenly jump out from nowhere and yell "AHA! Caught red-handed! That's a month of cold turkey for you!".

Also, the alochol-containing hot chocolate was in small dosage, meaning he couldn't possibly get drunk from one or five cups(not that it was easy for him to get drunk anyway. After all, he remembered quite clearly, how he was always the sober one, taking a drunk England back home for reasons beyond him, after a night out with his brothers, drinking)

He smiled, observing Sealand in particular. He had never thought he'd see the wannabe-nation ever again.

He looked forward to seeing England (and Sealand)'s reaction, when England and Sealand met again. If it wasn't hilarious, he'd eat his hat.

He recalled the first time England had met Sealand. Well, he hadn't actually been there, but England, again for reasons beyond any of the British (well, Irish as well) brothers understandings, had called them shortly after... "Meeting" Sealand.

Sure, it was hilarious to look back on, but when England first called them, completely stressed out and in panic, they had felt... maybe just a tiny winy bit worried about him (by this, he meant a lot).

He smiled, remembering his own reaction to Sealand. Those had been the days... Sealand being a small toddler and puking up all over England. Ah, such wonderful, wonderful memories...

* * *

><p>Germany looked around the partially prepared meeting room, with a stern gaze.<p>

It was pretty clear why China and England had gone off shopping. They lacked the necessary flags to label where who was sitting where (it was better to use flags, for several reasons)

The room had recently been cleaned, if the mop and bucket placed messily in the corner had anything to say.

Things had been cleared, but not completely, empty frames still lying around and... Empty frames?

Ah yes, America _had_ mentioned how photos and pictures related with the other nations had 'mysteriously' disappeared.

Sure, they still hadn't found those missing things. but still.

The others had entered the room, Spain picking up an old-looking piece of paper lying on the table discarded.

"Preparing a World Meeting for stupid gits (even ones as stupid as you Am-" He began reading, but America rushed over tearing the paper out of Spain's hands.

America started reading it curiously, so Germany (and the others) decided to ignore him and started looking at other papers lying on the table or unpacking the things they'd brought with them.

America was glad no one really took note of him taking the sheet from Spain so abruptly. Really, the reason why he had done that was because the piece of paper was something he thought he'd thrown away a long time ago...

Several centuries ago, when he was still a young nation (well, thinking about it, he was still considered a young nation...), he was told he'd be holding the next world meeting at his place.

Naturally, being told this wouldn't cause an uproar nowadays, however, this had been the first time America had ever been told that he'd be holding it and with world meetings never having happened in his place before, he knew nothing about preparing one.

He complained about it to Canada, France and a few others, that he was (or still is) good friends with at the time (i.e, Japan wasn't quite a friend back then, no matter how often America had visited him, so America didn't go to him for help). Somehow, England found out about his troubles and teased him about it.

A while later, sometime before the first world meeting held in the USA, England gave him a piece of paper, telling him how to plan one... But America never read it. He only read the title, then scrunched it up and threw it in the bin, annoyed that England wasn't taking him seriously (OK, it was admittably difficult to do that, but that was besides the point).

England must have fished the paper out of the bin and kept it as a... Probably for him, fond memory.

But why leave the centuries old thing on the table? Unless... Nah, they couldn't have forgotten how to plan one, right? (And why hadn't the HCS taken this piece of paper too, along with the photos?)

He folded it neatly and put it in his pocket, deciding that he'd decide whether or not to destroy it later.

Germany asked Spain to see if he could find them and the others something to eat. Spain nodded merrily and left, walking off to see if he could find any tomatoes in the house and wondering whether or not to cook something.

Germany then turned to America and Japan.

"We still need to finalise how we'll break the news to them and when." Germany said, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Hai, I agree. Actually, I thought we could slowly direct the meeting to that topic... First, we need to bring up the possibility of killing nations, then talk about how the HCS discovered things about us, not even we know about ourselves. Maybe then we could start hinting about the HCS knowing how to kill nations and then admit that nations have been... Killed..."

America and Germany nodded, America continuing. "And you want me to fill them in on what we've been up to in the last few days. Then tell them we know who is deffinitely... dead."

America's mind flipped through the different faces he'd seen, some unrecognisable, some not, frozen in ice and forever in a state between life and death.

Well, maybe not life, but America had seen several films, in which they revived frozen bodies... Who said it wasn't possible to do the same in reality?

The three soon delved into a conversation, in which they specified how exactly the meeting would go, drawing out where speeches would be needed and where pictures and diagrams would be helpful.

All the while, as they planned away, Canada sat there, having been forgotten the entire time, feeling shock at the revelation.

* * *

><p>At three o' clock, they had finished preparing the meeting, meaning that England and China would have very little to do when they got back.<p>

The Italies had arrived shortly after three, telling them that the Middle-Easterns and Africans were tired from travelling and so, opted to stay in their hotel rooms.

At four, Sealand, Ireland, South Korea, Latvia and Liechtenstein came back.

Liechtenstein took one look at Germany and smiled brightly at him, before running over and hugging him.**** Germany awkwardly patted her on the head.

"It's nice to see you again." Germany finally said, after Liechtenstein let go. She then hugged Italy (because everyone likes him) and gave America a polite nod.

"I'm so glad I get to see you all again. And I'm glad to see that you can see again Italy." She said.  
>"Ve~ I'm glad you can speak again." Italy replied, hugging her again. Ireland squeezed passed them and left South Korea, Latvia and Sealand standing awkwardly in the hall.<p>

Latvia, South Korea and Sealand were all giving America odd looks, as if they were trying to place him somewhere in their minds. America shifted uncomfortably.

"Ah, you three, may I reintroduce you to some people you used to call friends... Or at least knew." Liechtenstein said, distracting them. America gave Liechtenstein a grateful look, not that she noticed.

"This is Mr. Germany." All three opened their mouths to say something, but Liechenstein beat them to it. "Please feel free to talk after I introduced you to them." She said.

"This is Mr. America and this is Mr. Italy. Er... Is anyone else here?"

"Ja, Romano, Spanien, China, Japan und Kanada sind hier."* Germany replied.

"Actually, I'm right here..." Canada piped up.  
>"Did you here something?"<p>

"Amerika, you are imagining things again."

"Do I know you from somewhere?" South Korea asked America, standing next to him.  
>"Er... Yes... We knew each other in the past..." America started, not really wanting to go into detail about how their friendship started. Though he and South Korea were good friends, the way they met and befriended each other wasn't the most pleasant thing to talk about.**<p>

"You and Mr. Germany both seem like people I should know..." Latvia commented. Liechtenstein took a deep breath.

"Guys, as said, you are actually countries and you've been in contact with both America and Germany (and Italy as well) before." she explained, tired of saying this over and over.

"Yeah... About the country thing... Though it explains a lot, all three of us are still skeptic about it." Korea said. "Nothing against you, of course."

"So they don't remember, huh?" America asked Liechtenstein, who nodded.  
>"Well, it's still nice to see you all again."<p>

After that, they chatted for a while, before separating into small groups. South Korea, Sealand and America were playing a board game, seeing as England's house currently lacked a lot of stuff, only having been kept in top conditions. Internet had been removed and whether or not England owned any game consoles was anyone's guess.

Latvia, Germany and Liechtenstein were talking, Latvia finding that Latvian history was suddenly very interesting. Germany and Liechtenstein didn't really know that much about Latvian history, but what they did know, they tried to tell him about.

Canada and Japan were both reading a book, Japan occasionally looking up (having felt like he wasn't alone) to notice Canada and pale, then resume reading after a couple minutes of complentating.

What Ireland was up to was anyone's guess. Italy, Romano and Spain were having siestas, all using bedrooms that weren't actually theirs.

China and England got back at five. The first thing that happened, was that America "glomped" them, all three falling over. Korea decided to join in, because it looked fun, Sealand also threw himself on the pile. Italy and Spain came downstairs with Romano (having all finished their siestas at the same time... Weirdly enough... Must be a mediterranean thing), but saw the dogpile and decided to throw themselves on top of it as well.

Ireland, who had been nearby, laughed his head off, the others trying to either pry the nations off England and China or just standing there, gaping.

China briefly thought he was lucky the other nations currently in the UK weren't with them in England's house right now. Or else he and England could kiss their backs goodbye.

After everyone calmed down, America realised that England could see and remember. That resulted with another "glomp", however, it wasn't quite as big as the last one (England managed to keep his footing this time around) and resulted in not just the victim being injured.

After that, everything got a bit chaotic. There were arguements over dinner arrangements, Ireland and Englands' relationship with each other got worse and worse over the course of the evening, Latvia, Sealand and South Korea kept... Staring at people (some longer than others), several nations complained about hearing things (like someone was talking to them really softly or something...) and to top it all off, everyone felt like they were being watched... More than they were being already, that is.

... Like someone was hiding just around the corner, ready to jump out and shout surprise.

It was a miracle that everyone actually ended back in their bed in either England's house or a hotel all in one piece, and actually asleep at a sensible time.

Sealand lay awake in bed however. It was three in the morning and his head was spinning, he was so tired...

But he remembered. He had dreamt, woken up and remembered. He didn't know why, but having dreamt a dream that related with him being _Sealand_ and then waking up with the topic fresh in his mind and having seen England and Ireland...

That finally triggered the destruction of the block, that had been stopping him be a (wannabe) nation and remember.

Everything was fuzzy and he felt sick in his stomach. He felt so useless, not that this was new, seeing as many treated him like he was nothing anyway, but he felt more so than usual.

Everyone had everything under control and he had nothing to say or do. Really, the only reason why he had been picked to escape the HCS was mostly because he was just a _child_, even though he was at least a century old now.

None of the older nations (or simply put, the ones that are adults) wanted to see a child being tortured, no matter if at some point, that child would be their worst enemy.

And what with nations and humans being treated so differently there, they also forgot their differences and for a while saw each other as a unity and a group of people you could always depend on and trust in.

Obviously, such feelings would disappear as soon as they got out of the struggle and back into normal life, but if Sealand had to think of anything good about being kidnapped by the HCS...

It was being together and feeling you could trust them to help and fight with you. No backstabbing, no secret alliances, because everyone wanted the same goal. They wanted _out_.

He sighed and got out of bed. Though he hated Jerk England, he wanted some comfort. He wobbled slightly because of his spinning head, but soon walked out of the guest room, to England's room.

"Jerk?" He mumbled. England was already deep asleep. Sealand sighed. He entered the room and crawled into bed, covering himself with the duvet.

He snuggled up to England, like he did a century ago, closing his eyes. Just one night, after this, he didn't need something... Comforting (to a VERY BIG extent!) to help him sleep.

At least, that's what Sealand told himself, as he drifted asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>*He knows he's Korean. Or is at least a large fan of South Korea. He cannot claim things are invented in Korea as a human, however, he does claim a lot of things to be very Korean, such as, helping people.<br>**I doubt Peter Kirkland knows about the wanna-be country called Sealand. Which is why he claims everything English (or British)... However, if he did know Sealand, it'd all be Sealandic... Or something...  
>***I can't remember the precise name, but I had a hot chocolate once, with a similar name. The hot chocolate was called that, because it had rum in it. And it didn't actually taste as nice as I thought it would.<br>**** I based Liechtenstein's friends on her resident embassies. I'm not quite sure what a resident embassy is, but it's all I can go on. Any objections? No? Good. ;)  
>*Ja, Romano, Spanien, China, Japan und Kanada sind hier = Yes, Romano, Spain, China, Japan and Canada are here.<br>** Referencing Korea's history, from the Japanese rule, to the split between North and South Korea until the Korean War. Actually, reading Korea's history makes me very... depressed... :(  
><strong>

**Sorry the chapter was so rushed. I'm not that pleased with it, but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway!**

**The reason it took so long to update was because I wanted to prewrite the next few chapters with this one... But I failed, 'cause it's taken me weeks to even get half of the next chapter written... So I thought, _Whatever, I'll just go ahead and update_. So yeah, I'm not going to try and prewrite chapters ever again. It just takes waaaaay to long. :S  
><strong>

**... ~Is still obsessed over the 100 reviews~ :D :D :D  
><strong>


	22. Chapter 21

The next day, the meeting took place. Everyone arrived the day prior, so many still suffered from jetlag. Thinking about it, the meeting wasn't very well organised, but most had forgotten a lot on how to properly and successfully prepare a meeting of any sort, whether it was just a simple chat on a few minor problems, or a large world meeting on gigantic, huge world problems.

Also, not all nations were present, "not all nations" being only New Zealand, whom Germany, America and Japan were supposed to get. Oh well...

At the head of the table sat Germany, with Japan to his left and America to his right. This was all that was important to know about the seating arrangements in the room.

You see, no one had actually bothered sitting down in the seats chosen for them (apart from Germany, America and Japan, that is), even though China and England had delibrately gone out shopping the other day to get some flags, marking where everyone should sit.

A lot of nations weren't even sitting at the table. In their sleep-deprived states, several just lay on the floor, in a state of half-sleep.

England hadn't bothered sitting in his own chair, which had originally been placed next to America. He was sitting at the other end of the table, in what should have been one of the South American's chairs (said nation lying on his tummy on the floor; his face in a pillow), as far away as physically possible from America.

The reason why England sat so far away, was mostly because he was still annoyed with America about the whole _glomping_ experience the other day.

Because of the two glomps, his back was killing him and to show his annoyance, he was "blanking" America, or quite simply put, ignoring him... Which would have been quite a hard feat to achieve; what with America being... America; but said nation was oddly quiet and withdrawn today.

Well, it was one headache less to think about. The other was Sealand.

England woke the whole house up, shortly after waking up himself, by screaming (how would you react if you go to bed one night and wake up the next morning to find you're sharing your bed with someone you weren't sharing it with the night before?), then spending an awkward half hour explaining himself, telling Sealand off, hugging the boy to pieces when he found out Sealand remembered and a lot of other emotions just splashing up and out from nowhere.

It had been very tiring, but a lot of other nations who had watched the spectacle, said it was hilarious (and he was pretty sure he saw Ireland with a camera).

Later; he and Sealand talked about whether or not Sealand would be allowed to attend the meeting. As far as England was concerned, only _nations_ were allowed, and since Sealand wasn't officially recognised as a country, England was against him taking part.

Sadly, Sealand talked him out of it (which surprised England a lot) and now, during the meeting, Sealand wouldn't stop going on about how he was just a step away from full recognition, since this was his first _official_ meeting (not that it was official, seeing as the governments of the planet hadn't organised it this time round).

He sighed, and watched as the meeting went on. Most nations, even if they looked like they had died on the floor, where paying full attention and listening to Germany for once, who was currently explaining the situation to them.

England was mostly not paying attention, seeing as he was a little bit busy with something else.

Something important.

And no, it wasn't the growing headache called Sealand.

No, he was trying to remember the coordinates for the location of the HC bases, but his mind was like a teenager's room. You knew something you wanted was there, but had no idea where to look for it, since the whole place was one huge mess that only a teenager could make.

Also, if he hadn't mentioned it yet, Sealand was making his search for the AB-Coordinates far more difficult, by being a huge nuisance.

He sighed, and continued thinking deeply, blocking out as much noice as he could.

_Come on England, you can remember. You didn't survive this long for nothing. Come on, remember!_

"... And... That brings us up to the last few weeks..." Germany finished, sighing. "Amerika, will you take over?" America nodded and got out of his chair, clearing his throat first.

"Now, some time ago, I invited some of us to a restaurant at my place called the "Blind Sense"..."

"!" Spain suddenly screeched, falling out of his chair and crashing onto the floor with a loud thud. All nations turned their heads towards him, some annoyed and some confused.

"What's your damn problem tomato bastard?" Romano asked, slightly annoyed.

"H-h-Hungary." Spain said, pointing out the window. And indeed, as random as it was, Hungary was in fact standing outside.

But not alone. Prussia and Austria were with her. However, no one actually noticed them, because everyone was distracted by Hungary and her insanely happy grin.

She realised everyone had noticed her and was staring at her. If possible, her smile widened and she waved enthusiastically.

The reaction to that was (after a short pause) an awkward wave back from everyone (except Italy, who had actually fallen asleep as soon as the meeting started).

She took out a frying pan from apparently nowhere and pointed at it, then tapped on the glass.

Everyone stared at her dumbly, not understanding what she wanted. Some nodded confused, but not actually knowing what they were agreeing to. She nodded in reply and slowly swung the pan back.

It was at that moment that everyone understood what she was about to do. Almost immediately, both Ireland and England shot out of their seats and shouted "No don't!"

Hungary looked at them, a small frown on her face. She mouthed "spoilsports" at them, then started pouting as the two made their way around the conference table to open the window.

During this, it should be noted that England and Ireland kept quite a distance from each other. Stupid political tensions.*

"Oh my goodness, I'm so glad to see you all again!" Hungary said, hugging the first two nations she came in contact with... Which happened to be Ireland and England, seeing as they had opened the window to stop her smashing it open.

Both gave an indignant squawk.

Germany stood up.

"Hungary!-"  
>"Are you having a conference meeting? Without me?" She asked.<p>

"... I knew I forgot something aru..."  
>"Miss Hungary, we are sorry we forgot you... You were mentioned, but not as someone who remembered-"<p>

"Well, I remember now."

"OK, everyone, let's just continue the meeting as if nothing has happened! Hungary, you came just on time by the way!" America inturrupted (and somewhere else, a planet exploded. After all, for America to be the one keeping order, a world _had_ to end).

Hungary nodded with a smile on her face and sat down. Ireland and England both recomposed themselves.

"Hey, you two, don't you want to come in too?" Ireland called out, noticing Prussia and Austria. Both seemed to jump and turned to look at him, pointing at themselves.

"Yes you! Come on, we haven't got all day!" Ireland called. Well, technically, they did, but whatever. Ireland turned to Germany and Liechtenstein.

"It's Prussia and Austria." Germany was sitting in his chair again, however, didn't get up in excitement, seeing as that wouldn't be typically him. However, his eyes did widen with excitement.

All nations subconciously leaned forward or sat up straight, looking forward to seeing an old friend (or something old anyway) again (aside from Italy that is, who was still sleeping happily in his chair, the only difference now being that Hungary was sitting next to him).

Prussia and Austria climbed through the window, Austria feeling awkward and Prussia awesome.

Both felt like they were crashing an important meeting they shouldn't be in. Which they technically were.

It didn't help that every eye was glued to them.

However, before either could breath a word, Hungary ordered both to sit down, giving them a wonderful look of "disobey and die a slow and painful death" Ireland closed the window and sat down again.

Everyone blinked momentairily, before the meeting continued.

"... Anyway, hello Hungary, um..."  
>"They don't remember." She said helpfully.<p>

"OK, we'll have to... See to that later... We're going to discuss possibilities on how to regain memories faster later anyway."

"Anyway, so we were at my place, in one of my new restaurants called "Blind sense"..." America continued.

Prussia and Austria were both frowning, feeling uncomfortable.

However, fifteen minutes into the meeting everyone relaxed again, Prussia annoying Austria and Hungary giving them annoyed looks.

After the recap on how everything happened up to the present, Hungary was then asked to give everyone a fill on her story.

Gilbert sighed. Everyone in this room was insane. It was an _awesome_ kinda insane, but still insane. And being insane, no matter how awesome that kinda insane was, was deffinitely unawesome.

His eyes studied everyone in the room. There was that "England" guy from earlier... And as it seemed, a lot of other people were convinced about this whole country thing, including Elizaveta...

He hadn't expected that from her... Maybe this whole situation did hold some truth? No, that'd be absurd. And he couldn't honestly say he considered her completely sane (certainly not any more anyway).

Then his eyes landed on a man with blonde hair slicked back and ice cold blue eyes. Most would be intimidated by such a man, but when Gilbert looked at him, he didn't see a scary henchman-kinda-looking guy; no, he saw a little boy, that took life too seriously and needed to "loosen up".**

He couldn't help but gawk just a _little_ bit.

The man looked at Gilbert briefly, then quickly looked away, sinking into his seat.

Gilbert looked away too, deciding that staring at a man intensely wouldn't explain why the man reminded him of a small boy, that took life too seriously.

He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts, blocking out outside noises. Unknown to him, several other people in the room were doing this too, namely people more commonly known as Latvia, (South) Korea, Austria and England, the latter however concentrating to remember a few numbers, not a whole past.

No one was really paying attention to any of them, because Japan had stood up and started saying something else, seeming to have shocked everyone.

Even England had come out of his thoughts and looked surprised.

Gilbert didn't listen but concentrated.

And then it finally came. Like a dam being broken, his memories flooded back into his mind, all slipping into where they belonged. He didn't suffer flashbacks or brainfreezes or any of the other symptoms nations who had tried to remember previously suffered from.

It didn't change the fact that when he looked up again, he was completely awestruck.

He looked at everything as if he'd seen it for the first time.

He was about to stand up and announce how the awesome Prussia had returned, when he picked up on the conversation.

"... We... We know which nations are... are deffinitely dead."

Prussia's mind, along with a lot of other minds, went blank. America stood up and took out a briefcase, emptying its contents onto the conference table.

Nations, that were previously lying on the floor, were now standing next to the conference table, those seated leaning forwards.

Letters. And quite a few at that. At least fifty****. Japan, Germany and America kept their gazes low, not daring to look the others in the eye, silently listening to what would happen.

Several nations hesitantly reached out and picked up random letters. Then a few more nations read a few more letters. Then some more. And more. Until every nation had picked a letter up and read it.

The tension in the room was so thick, you could probably cut it with a slab of uncut and blunt rock.

Slowly, one by one, nations stood up and left, mumbling an excuse. America, Japan and Germany did nothing to stop them.

Everyone left slowly, wandering off somewhere to hide. To be by themselves. Nations dealt with their feelings and emotions alone after all*.

The three nations left in the room looked at each other and sighed deeply at the same time.

"That was hard." America said after the three had stared at the pile of letters for a while. Japan and Germany said nothing. America coughed awkwardly and stood up slowly.

"I guess the meeting is adjourned until further notice. I'm gonna go... I'm just gonna go. See you later." He said and left too.

After America left, Japan turned to Germany, a deep frown on his face.

"I guess the most difficult part is over." He commented, sinking into his chair.

"Nein. I'm afraid the most _difficult_ part is yet to come." Germany replied, his mind remembering the rage he felt or was still feeling, when he found out about the extent of the damage the HCS had inflicted on the nations of the Earth.

He felt sorry for the HCS. Because they'd released something so powerful, not even he could stop it.

* * *

><p>New Zealand blinked around his room. He blinked. He felt like he was missing out on something big. His pet sheep, that was asleep next to him, woke up too and baa'd at him.<p>

He smiled and petted it.

He then fell asleep again, soon forgetting that he felt like he was missing out on something.

* * *

><p>A few Letters from the dead nation<em>s<em>

_Dear anyone who reads this,_  
><em>I guess I've been sentenced to death. This is my last letter before I die. I think this can be considered the most shocking letter. From what I look like, many would scream I'm too young. I was "born" in 2004, so the last time I checked, I was officially 8 years old, though I look older than that. I guess I am too young to die. I spent most of my life in a hell hole, a whole century in fact... If I counted correctly. Thing is, I don't think I really understand death. What is it? Though I have a basic concept of it, I don't think anyone truly knows what death is like, until you meet someone so precious to you, you couldn't imagine living without them and then one day... They're gone and you<em> have_ to live without them_._ I admit, maybe I haven't lived long enough to know what death is (come on, only eight years!), so... If I think positively it's just another adventure. Don't mourn me brothers. No point in crying over spoilt milk. Death comes sooner or later anyway, we'll see each other again, perhaps.  
>Love, Wy<em>

_Everyone, don't cry for me. Because I can't bear to see your tears. I'm sure I'll be able to watch you from where ever I'm going. So promise me to always smile. Don't cry for me. Because it'd sadden me to see you cry.  
>Love, Prisoner 4 (The Republic of China; ROC)***<em>

_Mes chers, it is my time to die, even if it is not yet my time. C'est la vie. Je vos aime.  
>Prisoner 100, F.B.<em>

_Schwester, don't cry for me. You know tears are pointless. I hope you will not hate me for not escaping with you. I'm glad you managed to leave. Enjoy your life and don't let go of friendships easily. Ich liebe dich sehr. And remember; tears are pointless. Don't cry.  
>Love from V.Z. Prisoner 52<em>

_Keep off the alochol, control yourselves, will you stop with the bloody swearing already (I'm about to die, I'm allowed to contradict myself!) and try and repair our broken relationships for me. I tried when I was around, but you guys had to insist on being difficult! Though I won't admit it in your faces, I love you all. I'm afraid I no longer remember your names though. Sorry brothers. Know that I love you though. Tell my friends that I will miss them dearly.  
>All my love, Wales<em>

__There is a lot I regret in my life. To list them all would take forever and more paper than I have. Besides, I no longer remember everything, everything I should know is becoming a faded memory, blurred and unclear. The only thing that I know I deffinitely want now, is a stiff drink and maybe a cigarette. There are many other things I want too, but I no longer remember what._  
><em>Scotland<em>_

_I don't understand what is going on. I don't know what's going on. I don't know where I am. I don't know who I am. I don't know what I am. I'm lost. I'm scared. I'm lonely. Help. Anyone?  
><em>_Prisoner 10_

* * *

><p><strong>*Quick reminder that this is set in the fictional 22nd century. Though it looks and sounds a lot like the 21st, this is the 22nd. In this setting, there's a high tension between Ireland and the UK and as England gradually becomes England again, both England and Ireland start to feel the high tensions between their countries. Though it doesn't do much plotwise, it's there.<br>** I can imagine that Germany, as a boy (and not following the HRE theory, that Germany is the HRE), took life far too seriously and certainly didn't act like a boy should. Prussia helped little Germany find his "inner-child" or something. In other words, he annoyed the heck out of little Germany by not acting his age. XD Just my head-canon  
>*** Doesn't remember she's also called Taiwan...<br>**** That's like 1/4 of the nations being dead (there are roughly 200 countries on the planet, not including the micronations...)  
>*Er... eh... Um... o_o I'm not very open about my feelings and emotions towards people I don't really trust... I guess this shows here. Sorry. ^^;<strong>

**Sorry if Prussia and the whole bunch of other nations come off as OOC.  
><strong>

**Sorry if you find this incredibly disappointing.  
>Sorry if I made you incredibly depressed... May I suggest reading fluffy cuteness?<strong>

**Reviews mean a lot to me. Please R&R. :)  
><strong>


	23. Chapter 22

The meeting was put on hold for about a week. During this period of time, nations, after the first shock, clumped together and spent time together, trying to comfort each other.

Some of the countries, which preferred spending time alone or disliked showing emotion openly, hid in their rooms or went on long walks (even though the weather was usually horrible).

Several nations kept moving between being in a group and spending time alone.

And others went into denial. They tried not to think about it. They did everything to not think about it. They cleaned and tidied the house, they rearranged objects, they did the cooking and cleaning and went shopping for food regularly.

They watched plenty of films, read newspapers and books, played games and a number of other things.

... And America got fed up and bored.

Don't get him wrong, it wasn't that he thought the others were behaving stupidly or anything. He himself still felt bitter sadness inside of him (so he wasn't in denial, like some others).

No, the reason he felt fed up, was because he'd been trying to comfort everyone, only it seemed that no matter how hard he tried to be a comforter (well, he called it being a hero), it backfired on him.

He tried comforting England, and they'd ended up arguing.

He tried comforting Canada, and the result of that was that Canada was angry with him and he felt very demoralized.

He tried comforting Japan, but Japan pushed him away, telling the nation he was _too young_ to really understand and that he'd be OK.

He even tried with Iraq and quite frankly, _why_ had he thought he'd even succeed there? Sure, the relations between the USA and Iraq had gotten amazingly better in the last fifty or so years, but it didn't mean he and Iraq were quite best buddies yet.

He sighed, and sat at the bottom of the stairs. Germany and America had both agreed that on Monday, i.e. tomorrow, they'd continue the meeting, seeing as crying over the dead wouldn't help them rescue the ones that weren't dead yet.

The more time they wasted in letting their emotions take over, the more time they were spending in letting the HCS run wild and hurt more people than necessary.

He looked up when he heard someone coming down the stairs.

It was Liechtenstein. Her eyes were still a bit red from crying and her nose had turned pink and runny, but she looked better than she had in the last few days. She smiled politely at America and walked down to him.

"Are you OK Mr America?" She asked, standing next to him. He shrugged in reply.

"It feels like half my friends went off and died, and I'm not just talking about the ones that really did go and do that." he said after a pause. Sadly, the truth in his words were far too true for his liking. Everyone walked around like they had become ghosts, their faces etched with unspoken sadness and untouchable pain.

It was how everyone had looked after both World War 1 and 2. Even the winners had looked like all life had been drained from them.

Nothing should make the world ever look so dead ever again.

And yet it did.

The HCS.

"... I guess losing so many of us all at once is just very shocking. I-I mean, we always expected them to be with us for centuries... To just suddenly disappear..." Liechtenstein said after a while.

"E-especially if... If their people are still around. I always thought it was impossible for one of us to die, while leaving our people behind by themselves. I guess I was wrong..."

America nodded in agreement and Liechtenstein wandered off, having noted that America probably wanted to be alone for the moment.

America paused and thought. (Something dangerous for the American to be doing.)

_Liechtenstein is right. How is it possible to kill one of us and leave their people without that person? It's not... If you kill a nation, a new one would appear to take his or her place, though it's very difficult to kill one of us, unless their time was coming, i.e. someone appeared a while ago to take over the place, such as with me and Mamerica or with, as I'm told, the Italies and Rome._

_And then there's the Titanic incident. Even though England and Ireland were reported as one of the missing, presumed dead people, they still turned up again alive and breathing. Of course, this could be because they nation-hopped, but there are many factors which could have stopped them from escaping the ship. And we have a tendency to forget we _can_ nation-hop when we're in danger... So whenever we're "Missing in Action", we always turn up at home again.  
><em>

_So how is it possible... _

America shook his head. He didn't know. None of them did. He got off the stairs and walked up, deciding to seek out Korea. Maybe he could talk to someone about this, like with Japan or er... what's his name? Oh yeah, Canulia. Canulia, yeah.

No wait...

Isn't it...

Canada? Nah...

* * *

><p><em>Tick... Tick... Tick...<em>

_1234°5'67890 S /123456°7'890 E/W_

_Tick... Tick... Tick..._

_76°543'21 S/102°329'56 E  
><em>

_Tick... Tick... Tick..._

_70°4165'21 S/166°2329'55 E  
><em>

_Tick... Tick... Tick..._

_70°41'65.2" S/166°55'23.9" E  
><em>

_Tick... Tick... Tick..._

_70° 41' 00.0" S/166° 55' 00.0" E_

_OK, that's the second pair of coordinates... Hm... The second base is on Unger Island. Interesting.  
><em>

_Tick... Tick... Tick..._

_I should put that clock somewhere else. It's getting really distracting._

_Tick... Tick... Tick...  
><em>

* * *

><p>Germany massaged his head. Fighting. From left, right, up, down and center.<p>

When they continued the meeting, peace was kept for about ten seconds. Sure, it was longer than Germany had admittedly expected, however, it still didn't change the fact that his headache was returning.

Again.

Oh, if only England had stayed quiet. But no, the Brit _had_ to reveal that he had knowledge on where every single HCS base on the planet was.

It also didn't help that everyone had gone from Denial and(/or) Depression into Anger mode.

"I want justice!"

"We all do, idiota!"

"Hey, I suggest we nuke them!"

"I second that!"

"Wait guys, we need to approach this rationally-"

"Who cares about rationality? Humans behave irrationally all the time; I say we just let our feelings tell us how to behave!"

"Second!"

"Thriced!"

"Thriced isn't a word..."

"Fourthed!"

"Neither is fourthed..."

"Stop telling us which words exist. Language changes all the time, those words exist from now on!"

"Second!"

"Hey, hey; slow down. We need to come up with the best method of revenge. They took away what we love, we should take away what they love."

"Send their research up in flames!"

"Completely destroy their bases!"

"Kill their families!"

"What was that?"

"We can't just go and kill innocents, just because one person committed a crime."

"I want justice!"

"We all do, idiota. And you've already said that!"

_Oh my head..._ Germany thought. Even when it came to blood-thirsty revenge, no one could agree with each other. And they were missing the point of this meeting.

The further topics that were supposed to be talked about were a: Most personifications won't be able to take back their role as a nation and b: How to rescue the still-living nations that are imprisoned by the HCS. There was also the minor matter of convincing the government that yes, nations _were_ important for the world, but that could be discussed later.

It seemed the only topic being discussed currently was revenge, or rather, as it is written on the topics-to-discuss-sheet, The HCS' Punishment. Did no one care about the other problems?

At least he wasn't the only one trying to contain his own wrathful feelings.

At first at least half of everyone had tried to be rational, but irrationality spread like wildfire among the nations. Germany was pretty sure that Japan, China and Liechtenstein were keeping their heads together. He wasn't sure about the rest.

"I suggest we lock them in a house with an insanely angry and psychotic nation, with whom no one can speak rationally, and let them be man-slaughtered one by one. It'd be the closest we'd get to trapping them inside a room with a monster." Liechtenstein suggested to a South American nation, who actually paused to _consider_ the option.

_Well, there goes Liechtenstein's sanity. Just Japan and China left, who are definitely thinking calmly._ _Meine Güte, I hope there are more than just us three..._ Germany thought calmly, slightly worried about Liechtenstein and her trail of thoughts.

It seemed Liechtenstein had spent too much time with Belarus alone. Oh, he had _told_ Russia that making Liechtenstein and Belarus friends wouldn't make Belarus a nicer person, but rather vice versa, but did that make his "comrade" listen? No~...

Germany took another deep breath, hoping it'd stop him exploding at the gathering; mostly because it'd make no difference if he was yelling at them. They'd probably just argue back.

Or they might physically attack him. He was pretty sure that by now, that England, Prussia and Spain had gone into Pirate-mode. Or at least, England and Spain had. It was always more difficult to tell with Prussia.

America had gone into Southerner-mode, Italy and Romano were definitely acting like they were the bosses of the Mafia again, the South Americans had this blood-thirsty look about them, Ireland was talking like he was part of the old IRA again and... Yeah, you get the picture. Everyone was becoming more and more aggressive by the second, many starting to remind Germany of certain time periods, in which nations were constantly causing another one pain and_ enjoying_ it.

_Bleib ruhig Deutschland... Don't lose your temper. Stay calm, don't lost your temper..._

However, it seemed no matter how hard he tried, the resolution to stay calm and collected was fading fast.

"That's enough! Everyone shut up! We're wasting time like this!" Germany snapped, standing up.

But sadly, barely anyone heard him, because his voice was drowned out by the noise. The nations that actually heard him, turned their heads to snap at him, but were quickly distracted by the majority of the attendees of the meeting, who were currently "discussing" which death sentence was more painful (such as being burnt at the stake or being hung, drawn and quartered)

"I said **_Shut_ up**! We can deal with Revenge later! While you sit here arguing, we waste precious time we could spend on more important things!" Germany finally shouted, some how louder than even Korea or America. There was a long silence, as everyone either glared at Germany, looked at him confused or looked at him with fear. Germany mentally smiled, pleased that everyone had shut up long enough for him to continue.

"Yeah? Like what?" Someone suddenly piped up, somewhat arrogantly. Germany twitched, but didn't raise his voice. In fact, he stayed eerily calm.

"There are plenty of nations out there that are still HCS prisoners." was all he said, deciding to sit down again.

Like a blessing, the gathering nearly immediately was chocked with guilt and _really_ shut up. Anyone that had been ablaze with the ideas of revenge and filled with anger had quietened at the thought that they still had friends out there, _suffering_, who became forgotten ghosts, just because the idea of revenge looked so much sweeter than anything else.

When it became clear that no one would speak, Germany cleared his throat and continued.

"I would have suggested we split-up, in order to cover the bases more quickly, and therefore find still missing nations faster, however, I do not want any of us to confront the HCS, seeing as they seem to know everything about us... Including weaknesses that not even _we_ knew existed. Since America, Japan and I have gathered enough evidence to prove the HCS guilty of multiple crimes throughout the last century, we can get our governments to back us up in searching the bases." Germany explained, having had a week to do a _lot_ of thinking.

"That will mean we have a total of seventeen governments supporting us, which is more than enough, right?"

"Ja."

"But isn't doing this risky? Couldn't this lead to everyone knowing about us?"

"It is a distinct possibility, but I doubt anything worse than the HCS could possibly happen."

"... I suppose, for a potato bastard, the plan's not too bad."

"Ve~"

"It sounds reasonable I suppose."

"Doesn't the entire search of the Bases also mean we automatically capture the HCS?"

"Yes."

"This plan has just gone from OK to best thing ever da-ze!"

"Does anyone have a different suggestion aru?" China's question was met with silence. "Is anyone against Germany's idea?" Japan asked. There were a few murmurs, but no one clearly said they were against it.

"Then let us discuss the details of the plan..."

* * *

><p><em>And in other news, rumours have spread that several communist states have gotten their hands<em> _on High-Tech Weaponry from a source suspected to be the HCS, a criminal organization and probably a terrorist group, that has been recently discovered._

_Per chance, a secret informant with the pseudonym Black Mirror _ _managed to catch the trade between a man with some sort of logo and a dictator. This information has caused the World to go into high-alert._

_With the communist states having made recent alliances unconnected with the UN, such as the recent Korean-Chinese Alliance or the Korean-Irish Alliance, Germany's chancellor, Mrs. Nina Adelberg was caught saying "It seems World War 3 may be waiting at our doorsteps. Gentlemen, the decisions we make in the next few months may decide whether the world will remain at peace or go to war."_

_With the Oil- and Nuclear Power Crisis going from bad to worse, many Economists and Politicians are forced to agree with this statement._

_Politically everything is tensing up. As Ruby Smith said in one of her articles a few days ago "The World is a glass sheet that is cracking up. All that is needed for the glass to shatter is the gentlest touch of the lightest of breezes."_

* * *

><p><strong>Remember that this is set in the 22nd century, i.e. tensions between Ireland and the UK? Fictional. USA and Iraq having better relations? Hopefully will start becoming reality soon, but still fictional, as far as I understood the article I read about the USA and Iraq. PS, Iraq was one of the nations that the HCS never got their hands on.<strong>

**And about "Mamerica"... Well, there's Grandpa Rome, so now we have Mamerica (= cross between Mama and America) :P I know it's the most clichéed and sickening thing ever, but writer's have got to have some fun now and then.**

**Ticking clock and coordinate recovery scene is pointless ticking clock and coordinate recovery scene.  
><strong>

**I've heard of a LiechtensteinxBelarus pairing. While I don't support the pairing, I do support the two having a good friendship. It just sounds very interesting and also somehow sweet. This is why there's a reference to it in the chapter.**

**Why in all the world does America get a Southerner-accent when he's angry? Dunno. Probably because my mind's telling me that guys from the Southern states of the USA are kick-ass. I dunno either. o_O I... Really dunno.  
><strong>

**IRA = Irish Republican Army. The reason I refer to it as "old", is because er... It's changed since the early 20th century? Something along those lines. My history isn't that good you see... =.=; And I hate explaining stuff.  
><strong>

**Why did I use "Potential Superpower" instead of "Superpower"? Because currently, no country or union on Earth is a superpower. Mostly because of the fact that all nations are dependent on other nations, no matter how rich they are. While there are a few _potential _Superpowers around ( the EU, India, China, USA, Russia and Brazil), there are currently no countries (or unions) which qualify as a superpower. This may be a bit confusing, since a lot of people still think the USA is a superpower... But it's not. It really isn't any more. Sorry. :(  
><strong>

**Why is World War 3 becoming a minor plot line? I can assure you this is completely unintentional, I just kinda thought "Hey, since I've written this, I think I'll add this, and then this, etc." It just kinda happened, you know? Maybe I just enjoy adding in random plot to build up an open ending which can lead to a sequel. ^^; **

**Also note that I usually write in British English. This means that the grammar will be slightly different (American English: Color; British English: Colour)  
><strong>

**I am sorry this chapter is so short. I couldn't think of anything else to write. It's embarrassing that most of this chapter is made of footnotes. I hope you still enjoyed this chapter, even if it did take forever to write and ended up being... short...**

**Review? Anyone?  
><strong>


	24. Chapter 23

China was angry. Very, very angry. And he was sure that the other nations at AB2 were too.

The HCS base was _deserted_. In fact, every single base was. No one was there. All was gone. He growled, causing several Humans around him to move away in fear.

Oh, he was very, very angry. Not only did his government _cooperate_ with the HCS (they had probably bought some weaponry from them, if the rumours were true), but the HCS had _gone_.

Where could he take his aggressions out now?

He sighed and decided that anger wouldn't help him any more. He turned to one of the human leaders, looking at him with a neutral expression, pretending to be a normal human soldier.

Why was China pretending to be a normal human soldier? Well, you see, not all governments agreed to help them with the HCS, their excuse being that the HCS had never seemed to affect them in any bad way and therefore wasn't their problem.

However, many still wanted to help take over the bases, with or without the government's help, so the nations, that were chosen to go to the HCS bases, were smuggled into the armed forces as average humans.

Japan concluded that they'd probably find most, if not all, prisoners in AB2, simply because it was the second largest HCS base they knew about. He couldn't say for sure, so to be on the safe side, there was a least one nation checking out an HCS base elsewhere.

Most of them were checking out the AB2 base however.

China sighed, fiddling with his sleeves nervously, a silly habit he'd had since his early childhood. He hoped he'd find them. The prisoners. He hoped they were OK.

* * *

><p>Pain. It was all that kept being repeated over and over again in her mind. What kind of pain? She wasn't entirely sure. Mental pain? Physical pain? Spiritual pain? Soul pain? Poetic pain? She didn't know. Was the last even real pain? She still didn't know.<p>

Had it been a day, a few days, a week, weeks or merely a few minutes since her tormentors last burdened her?

She didn't know that either.

Prisoner 11. That's her. She'd been in this torture chamber since she could remember. Well, that's a lie. While her memory was blazy, she was pretty sure that the room she was in now, was different to the one she used to be in.

Or was she fooling herself?

If only she knew how long it had been since she'd last seen a tormentor. What if it'd been years? She didn't know. She knew that if it _had_ been years, then they must have forgotten her.

Were they finally trying to kill her? By starvation? No, otherwise they would have killed her long ago.

Didn't they whisper that she wasn't like them? Well, of course she wasn't, she was a prisoner and they were her captors. Yes, that's it. They're her captors. How can it be any other way?

No.

Pain. How did her thoughts always return to pain?

She flinched.

Wait, why did she flinch? Was there a cause for her flinching? Why did her eyes hurt? She crawled backwards, her eyes widening and lip quivering.

Had they returned? Had they returned to hurt her? No, they hadn't right? She would have preferred being forgotten forever than being found.

No wait, she knew why she'd flinched. Light. She was surrounded by it. Was she hearing voices? No, she wasn't. Was she?

The light that surrounded her; was it good light? No, it was bad light. It was cold and empty. It looked comforting at first, but then it revealed it's true form.

Did she see shadows in the light? Yes, but they were only shadows. Or were they her tormentors? Maybe they were, maybe they weren't, she wasn't sure.

But they must be. Unless she was dreaming of happier times again, which she couldn't be, since the light was hurting her, she assumed it _had_ to be her tormentors.

She wimpered, as she flinched away from the light and the blurred shadows and curled up into a tight ball.

She opened her mouth to beg them to go, to leave her be, but as far as she knew, they'd only ever come to hurt her.

So why change now?

Pain. Ah, she knew which pain she felt. Fear of pain. Oh no, no, no, they were moving towards her. The shadows were moving towards her!

She heard whispering. Just whispers. All around her. _Come home, stay away, make a wish, die_. Mixed whispering, good and bad. Which ones were really being whispered, which ones were in her mind?

She didn't know.

She opened her mouth to ask them to go away forever, but nothing came out. She curled up tighter in fear. Oh no, oh no, a shadow had reached out for her.

_Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone_... She repeated over and over inside her head. Oh no, oh no, the shadow had touched her.

Immediately she reacted aggressively. Red. Why was she surrounded by red? Why had her hands turned red. Red. It's written on the walls.

It's everywhere. Written. Laughing at her. That she hadn't been stronger. That she hadn't been braver.

Braver than what?

_Go away, go away, go away..._ Her mind screamed, as she curled up into a corner, away from the light. _Go away, go away, go away!_

A shadow came close again. She wimpered; it was getting too close. She screamed. She didn't know why, but she screamed, as loudly as possible, while trying to defend herself, from being hurt.

_Go away, go away, go away!  
><em>

The shadows went away. The light vanished. She was alone.

She blinked. She blinked again. They left? They'd never done that before. Maybe they wouldn't hurt her any more? Yes, that would be nice.

But no, they wouldn't stop hurting her. They love hurting her. Yes, but they must have decided to stop hurting her; they left without doing anything. She heard laughter fill her little room.

Laughter, loud and clear laughter. Happy? Sad? Angry? Maybe insane...

From where did it come from? She didn't know. She fell onto the floor and started rolling around, holding her stomache. Why was her breathing so difficult suddenly?

Oh... S_he_ was the one laughing. Why was she laughing? Oh, of course. They'd left her alone. Wonderful. This was wonderful. No more pain.

Oh... Now she heard screaming and crying. Why? Oh. Now she knew. She was afraid. She was scared. At least, she thought she was.

Her hands hurt. Her body hurt. Oh. She was attacking her room, throwing herself against walls and punching them with her fists, even though she was crying.

_Let me out, let me out, let me out_...

She fell to the floor, cuddling herself and burrying her face in her knees, sobbing as loudly as she could.

_Let me out, let me out, let me out..._

* * *

><p>She woke up. She looked around. Pain. That was all she felt. She wasn't sure which pain she felt. She looked up. Her eyes were clear. Everything was focused; yet she heard and felt nothing. It was like everything was unreal and just a blur. How much time had gone since she last saw her tormentors?<p>

A day, a few days, a week, weeks or merely a few minutes? She didn't know. She looked up, seeing the cold light enter her room again. She didn't flinch. She looked at it emotionlessly, as if nothing was in her.

A gasp.

Was that herself?

No. It was a shadow. Or maybe a few. They raced to her, they talked to her, but she heard nothing. She just stared at them emotionlessly. A shadow grabbed her wrist. She resisted and freed it. _Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone..._

Her captors were behaving strangely. Was this another trick? The shadow, which grabbed her wrist, touched her gently on the arm, rubbing it gently, as if to mockingly comfort her.

She felt fear; she scooted away. The shadow was talking. She heard whispers. Mixed whispers, all mixed... But... One whisper was louder and clearer than the others...

A voice she hadn't heard in a long time. Though she had seen clearly, she still felt like a curtain had just been opened before her very eyes.

The shadow sat down next to her, and continued talking, wrapping an arm around her and gently rocking her back and forth. This time she didn't resist. She didn't struggle.

She looked up at the shadow. She recognised him. She didn't know who he was, but she recognised him. A word floated in her head, but she only caught fragments of the word.

"Angel?" The shadow, which seemed to stop being so dark and started becoming colourful and warm, looked at her in amazement.

The shadow then laughed and shook his head lightly. He started talking again, as if she could understand him. But she couldn't. She simply looked dumbfoundedly at her knees. She had knees? How hadn't she noticed?

She felt confused. The shadow was talking again... No, this shadow wasn't a shadow. Not this one. What could she call it instead then? She'll have to call it Angel.

Angel was talking again, to what must be another Angel. She cuddled up to Angel. Angel picked her up and left the room.

She felt fear.

She had only ever left the room in order to have something more painful happen to her. She started shaking. Maybe she should kick. Oh. She had.

She was on the floor. She was running. She stopped.

Why was she running from Angel? Angel wasn't going to hurt her. She looked back. Where was Angel? She only saw Shadows.

She was scared. She screamed. She sat on the floor and cuddled up.

Someone was holding her. Who was holding her? She looked up. She saw a shadow. She screamed. The shadow screamed.

She looked at the shadow confused. A shadow had never done that before. She smiled. This shadow wasn't scary. This shadow seemed sweet. It must be an Angel too. She was confused. She doesn't understand the shadows.

Angel has turned up again. Angel smiled at her worriedly and sits down. He started talking to her again, but she doesn't hear anything.

She was scared. She wanted to hide. She looked up at Angel. Suddenly, something clicked inside her mind; that she could trust him, at least, she could for a little bit.

She reached out to him, holding her arms out, as if to ask him to hold her. The other Angel smiled. She trusted the other Angel too. He was nice.

Angel picked her up. He was talking to her again; this time she was able to hear bits of what he was saying.

_Go to sleep. It's OK, you're safe now, just go to sleep. Shh... It'll all be over soon... You'll see everyone again!... Shh...  
><em>

She trusted him for now. She rested her head on his chest, as he carried her off, while talking to other Angels. She yawned and closed her eyes. Was she safe now? Was she safe? She didn't know. Angel was here. Other Angels were here.

_ ...But are they shadows in disguise?_

She felt new fear, but Angel started speaking to her softly again, holding her a bit closer to him to comfort her. She looked up at him.

His eyes were pretty. He was nice. She nodded and drifted to sleep, deciding not to think about it. About anything. After all, there was no need to fear.

_No need to fear, no need to fear, no need to fear... Sh...  
><em>

* * *

><p>"How are they?" England asked, seeing Germany about to enter the large chamber, containing the once-prisoners of the HCS. Germany looked at him, then sighed deeply.<p>

"Physically, they are completely healed. A few have some scars, but in general they're OK. However... Mentally... I don't know. From what you said about Seychelles, and what I've heard from the others, I really don't know..."

England sighed too and nodded. "Has anyone woken up yet?"

"Nein... Leider. Shouldn't you be resting, like the others though? You _did_ just travel down to the South Pole and back again."

"I tried, but can't. Well, I can't get back to sleep anyway... I'm sharing my room with loud snorers, you know? There's a reason why I prefer being by myself!" England half-joked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"England, you should try to at least get some sleep. When the new day starts, who knows what kind of hell will be let loose on us. Currently, everything is one big, huge mess. Tonight's the calm before the storm."

"I-I know, but it still doesn't change the fact I can't sleep. Besides, since I currently lack an official title, none of the problems of tomorrow concerns me." England replied, shrugging.

Germany frowned.

"... Shouldn't you have changed shifts by now?" England asked, after backtracking his words, but deciding he was too tired to correct them.

Germany's only reaction to this was a slurp from his coffee. After a pause, Germany finally decided to say something as well.

"Ja." He admitted.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Ja."

"... Are you going to?"

"Nein."

"... OK." England replied, shuffling passed Germany and entering the large chamber. He noticed that he wasn't the only one awake in the room... The ex-prisoners were cuddled up on large, soft beds, that Germany had bought while the others were out rescueing them. They were sleeping peacefully, some even having a small smile on their faces.

England looked around. There were so many nations in this room that he wanted to sit next to and quietly comfort, that he didn't know where to start. Sighing he decided to go to someone he was actually related to.

He went over to Northern Ireland, who was sleeping peacefully, cuddling the stuffed Unicorn that England had given him earlier, during the day.

One thing, that all the rescued nations had in common, was that they all fell asleep before they left the base and didn't stir since.

England smiled at him. Pretty much all his brothers were dead. He only had the Irish brothers now. But somehow, knowing this didn't depress him.

Maybe it was because he had somehow accepted Scotland and Wales' deaths. Who knows.

He picked up Northern Ireland's hand and held it, putting the blankets over their hands, so that no one could see England's sensitivity towards his younger brother. No need for the world to know after all.

He looked around the room. South Korea was sitting at North Korea's bed, keeping some distance from his brother, obviously feeling the political tensions between their two countries. He was reading to him in Korean, occasionally reaching out to hold North Korea's hand for a few short moments, before letting go again.

Canueda... Er, sorry, _Canada_, was sitting between Cuba and Ukraine, leaning on Cuba's side of the bed, sleeping. On his lap was an open book.

Japan was with Greece, thinking deeply into space, while petting a cat sleeping next to the Greek man. The last other nation around, was Latvia, who was hovering between being with the last of the Nordics and the only other Baltic left, Estonia.

You see... Lithuania... was dead.

England frowned, his hand clenching. Too many deaths. Too many people who didn't deserve it... He leaned onto Northern Ireland's bed, closing his eyes tiredly.

_Honestly, that stupid HCS. Oh, if only they'd still been there when we got there! I would have shown them what the wrath of a former pirate is like! Oh yes, I'd already planned a billion and one deaths for them, and they _had_ to be gone, those bloody wankers... __Ugh, I must be tired, not thinking straight... I should go to bed again. Being with North isn't helping me._

He was about to let go of Northern Ireland's hand, when the younger Brother's hand clenched, forcing England to continue holding it. Surprised, England looked up, to find that the younger brother was still sleeping.

He smiled, then half-cuddled up to his younger brother.

_Strange... Even though so many tragic things have happened recently, it seems I've been smiling a lot more anyway..._

* * *

><p>"Where am I? Who are they? Who are you? Are you going to hurt me? Please don't hurt me, they hurt me so much, please don't, please, please, PLEASE, <strong>PLEASE<strong>!"

"Calm down, calm down! I'm not going to hurt you. I swear... Look... Look around you. Do you recognise these people?"

"Ou-Oui... B-but... Tormentors... Captors..."

"Sh... We've taken you away from that place. You're safe here."

"... Wh-who are you?"

"I'm Canada."

"And who are they?"

"They're your friends... Look, calm down, OK? You're safe now."

"O-OK..."

"Do you remember who you are?"

"I'm prisoner 101."

"Yes, but do you know who you are?... Your name?"

"I-I don't have any other name."

"OK, do you know who that is?"

"That's Prisoner 11."

"... OK, then you can recognise all prisoners?"

"Oui."

"... But you don't recognise me?"

"... You look familiar, but I don't know."

"Uh... Do you remember Prisoner 2?"

"There was a Prisoner 2?"

"... seriously?..." _Ugh, it s__eems it doesn't matter what my name is, everyone'll forget me anyway._

"Oh yes, yes there was! Wait a second... You're..."

"_I'm_ Prisoner 2, yes. But I'm not. My name's Canada. Do you remember me? As Canada, and not as Prisoner 2?"

"No-non..."

"It's OK if you don't yet, you just need to trust me for now, OK?"

"Oui. I... I... Oh my..."

The woman leapt forward suddenly and wrapped her arms around Canada. He jolted back in surprise, but then awkwardly patted her on the back. She started crying uncontrollably into his shirt, crying and crying. He sat down on her bed and wrapped his arms around her properly, letting her bury her face into his shoulder as she cried and cried.

"Shh... It's OK, you're safe now. I'm here and so are the others..." Canada said comfortingly. "Shh... It's OK Belgique... Tu est à la maison."

* * *

><p>"Hm..."<p>

"Hm? Is that all you're gonna say? Hm?"

"No need to be rude America-san. Examining a dead body isn't exactly pleasant. Besides it _really_ doesn't help if it was someone you... knew."

"So?"

Japan sighed, massaging his forehead. Oh, America could be so... Not-reading-the-atmosphere at so many _really bad_ times.

"From what I can tell, these bodies aren't just frozen. From a few blood samples, I found that the HCS has also injected the bodies with several chemicals. One is recognizable as a mixture of several deadly poisons, from which one drop could probably kill hundreds of men and another chemical that I almost overlooked... I couldn't recognise it though. I'll need to have all the information on us that the HCS has gathered. It'll probably help me find out what the mysterious chemical is. I already have an idea on what it could be, but I don't want to make any hasty conclusions." Japan explained wearily.

"... OK. I'll ask Spain. He said that the base in the Amazons had had a lot of information about us in it. He'll probably have the paperwork."

"Hai, thank you America-san." Japan said tiredly. America nodded and left Japan alone in the office room. Japan sighed and let his head rest on the desk. He, along with Germany, had worked through the night and all hell had been set loose that morning.

With a lot of rescued nations, most mentally and emotionally unstable, waking up at the same time, fear and disorientation being their largest emotions, saying things were a little chaotic would be a gross understatement.

There was a knock at the door. Wearily, Japan said "Come in." All Japan wanted to do was sleep, but with so much going on, minus what was happening politically in the world, Japan was already completely exhausted. He'd hate to think what Germany felt like right now.

"Hello Japan aru. I and England thought you might like some tea. I brought you some aru." China said, entering. Japan looked up.

"Er... Thank you China-san."

"No problem." China replied, sitting down, opposite Japan. He wanted to ask Japan what he'd found out about the... dead... nations, but seeing how tired Japan was, he decided to refrain from speaking.

"After this, I want you to go to bed aru." China suddenly ordered, after examining Japan's physical body posture carefully for a few moments.

"Huh? But-"

"No buts, whens, or whats aru. You're going to bed. England just sent Germany up. And if you've been up all night to, which you probably have, then I should send you up right away, but that'd be a waste of tea aru." China half-explained and ordered again.

Japan, for a while, contemplated arguing back, but then realised that China wouldn't let him _not_ sleep. He nodded and drank his tea quietly, secretly thankful that some nations could be so... Forceful at times.

After finishing it, he gave China a quick nod of thank you and goodbye, before heading to his room. There, peaceful sleep welcomed him and he drifted away from the world for a while.

* * *

><p>"Se-Sealand! Have you seen England anywhere?" America asked alarmed, shaking Sealand by the shoulders.<p>

"Er... No..." Sealand replied confused.

"Korea! Have you seen him?"

"England? No."

"Ah, this is terrible, this is horrible!" America said in despair.

"Why? What's wrong America?"

"Belgium asked England to get her something to eat! And I can't find him anywhere! This place has got nine kitchens, I've only been able to check three so far..."

"Oh no, this really is terrible! We must stop England from getting Belgium something to eat." Sealand declared. South Korea was a bit confused, not really having been confronted by England's cooking before, but decided it had to be bad if America _and_ Sealand said so.

"He's probably using the kitchen a couple doors away. He's been to that one several times... Have you checked it yet?"

"No."

"Then we must go immediately da-ze!"

"Agreed!" America said, bolting down the corridor, seeking out the mentioned kitchen.

Canada, Spain and the two Italies stepped out of a living room, to see America, South Korea and Sealand bolt down the corridors.

"Oh no... Whatever they're doing, it can't be good." Canada commented, as they watched the awkward three rush down the hall.

"Did you hear something?"

"Ve~ You must be imagining things. I wonder why those three are running down the hall so fast? Better follow them." Italy said. Everyone agreed and chased after the three nations.

Somewhat depressed, Canada ran after Spain and the Italies, who ran after Korea, America and Sealand.

Liechtenstein and Latvia left their bedrooms, to see the group of now six (... Liechtenstein could have sworn she counted seven, but Latvia said she must have imagined things) run down the corridor, like they were being chased by something scary.

Without thinking, Latvia ran after them, making Liechtenstein run after him.

"Hey, wait! What's going on?" She asked, but received no reply.

Finally, America got to the kitchen, but immediately wore the face of defeat. England was already rumaging in the cupboards. It was only a matter of time before England became unstoppable in his need to cook.

"Ah! England! Stop! Stop what you're doing!" America crie out. He then ran up to the Brit and tackled him, both nations crashing to the floor. England gave out a pained cry.

"Ow, ow, ow... What was that for you bloody idiot!" England demanded, pushing America off himself, only to find that he couldn't, because Korea and Sealand were helping America keep him down.

He struggled in frustration.

"Let me go you damn gits!"

"Don't cook Iggy! We just saved Belgium, we don't need her to die from your cooking after all this!" America exclaimed, hugging (more like squishing) England tightly. Liechtenstein, Italy, Romano, Spain, Latvia and Canada finally arrived at the kitchen, surprised to find England sort of half-pinned to the floor.

Only... It didn't look like he'd be down for long.

"... What did you say about my cooking?" England asked slowly, an aura almost as scary as Russia's forming around him.

America, Korea and Sealand slowly got up and backed away, as England sat up and glared at them.

"Er..." Sealand mumbled, somewhat scared now. In the blink of an eye, England was on his feet.

"**I. Will. End. You**." He declared, his eyes glinting with pure anger.

And then everyone was running again. This time, they were running away from England though, who was nows chasing after _everyone_, despite Spain, Canada, Liechtenstein, Latvia and the Italies being completely innocent in all this.

None of the innocents thought of stopping to talk with England calmly and rationally, in order to resolve this, but that was mostly because England had found and therefore became weaponed with a random rolling pin and his wand. And everyone knew, there was nothing more dangerous than an Englishman with a random rolling pin and a wand.

All the while, Ireland and Prussia, who had quite happily been talking with each other, looked at the fiasco confused.

... England was just getting some cookies out... So why did America claim him to be cooking...? Didn't he realise that they would have stopped England?... So why...?

Both looked at each other dumbfounded.

"I'm awesome!" Prussia then at seemingly random said, causing Ireland to lose his balance on the chair and fall off. Lying on the floor, Ireland decided not to try and figure out what had just happened.

* * *

><p><strong>What's up guys? By the way, this is by far the longest chapter I've ever written ( over 4'500 words!), but I think it makes up for last chapter being so short.<strong>

**Also, the last part of the chapter was added in to lighten things up a bit. I've realised that my latest chapters have been a bit depressing recently, with absolutely nothing or barely anything to make up for it. So voila! Say "Bonjour" to usual, daily stuff that'll happen between nations on an average day. :)  
><strong>

**And sorry for some parts of this chapter being a bit unsmooth. After reading this for the third time, I just got a bit fed-up. I think I'll get a beta reader, I hate rereading and editing DX  
><strong>


	25. Chapter 24

"... So, according to your research... They're... They're not dead yet?" America asked surprised.

"Hai. But only just. I think you could say, they are in the Twilight zone. Neither dead nor alive. Kind of like a virus really... Not that I want to compare ourselves with a virus."

"But if they're still alive, couldn't we simply unthaw them?"

"No, I am afraid not. Unthawing them would kill them."

"Wieso?" Germany asked. Japan sighed, but refrained from showing his emotions.

"The... The unknown chemical I was able to trace in their bodies is what makes us become normal. It is artificial and is completely useless to humans. It's not dangerous or useful in any way. Other than that it to turn us into humans... It doesn't do anything."

"Eh? But how can such a chemical exist? How can it even make us normal?"

"Who said that?"

"... That was me."

"Dude, Canada. Don't do that. You scared us all." America grumbled, showing around the room, as if to prove his point, that indeed everyone hadn't noticed him. Spain leaned over to Canada curiously, his face focusing on the Canadian.

"When did you get here? And how did you sneak in without anyone noticing?" Canada sighed, wishing he had stayed quiet, looking away, instead of answerering Spain's queston.

Japan cleared his throat in order to continue.

"In answer to your question... Canada?... I would need more time, money and resources to study the functions of the chemical. However, there are many more pressing matters and I lack resources. Maybe when peaceful times come again, I will be able to study it." Japan replied solemnly.

"But why can't we unthaw them? So, they're currently human. And? They're still alive! Most humans would be dead by now."

"America... The reason why we can't unthaw them is also because they're loaded with a mixture of several deadly poisons. I cannot say how many or how dangerous the poisons are. Only that it would kill a human near immediately. And since they're injected with the chemical, they _will_ die immediately."

"But that doesn't make sense. Why freeze their bodies and keep them partially alive, when they could simply kill them? Not that I'm complaining of course... Which doesn't mean I'm relieved that they're not dead or anything! Because I don't care for anyone at all!..." England half-asked and then rambled.

_Honest as always England-san._ Japan thought in his mind, biting back a bitter smile.

"I don't know. We would need someone, who worked in a high position in the HCS to know. I've been puzzling over it all day and night, but I could not come up with a sensible explanation."

"But wouldn't it be possible to somehow remove the chemical while they're in their frozen state?" Italy asked, gaining everyone's attention. Most gaped at the Italian, amazed that he had managed to say something useful for once. Italy shifted a bit, then continued.

"I mean, if we removed the chemical, the poison won't kill them... It may make them _wish_ they were dead, since the poison would still affect them, but they wouldn't die when unthawed..." Everyone stared at Italy, then at Japan and back again. Hopeful whispers started flitting around the room and soon it became a discussion; everyone started to fill up with hopes.

"I... I don't know if we can." Japan said after a while of contemplating, bursting everyone's bubbles. Silence filled the room once again. Everyone knew that when Japan said "I don't know", it didn't necessarily mean "I don't know", but rather "I don't think so".

And if Japan thought they couldn't rescue them...

Japan cleared his throat, in order to explain why he doubted it.

"Their bodies are frozen. Meaning that their blood circulation is frozen too. The chemical was injected into their bodies before they were frozen, because it takes a while for it to take affect. Assuming the antidote to the chemical has any similar properties, such as it being too slow; then it would make them normal too late. They would be dead before they became a normal nation again."

Everyone was silent, staring blankly at Japan, who took another deep breath, before sinking into his seat.

"So... They _are_ dead? Or essentially so?"

"Well, no. Not necessarily. Humans do not know much about brains. While their understanding is growing, their understanding between the organ, the mind and the person is still very limited. Afterall, if they knew exactly how a brain worked, they would be able to explain irrational behaviour."

"What are you saying?"

"It is possible that, though they are in a frozen state and though this is a long-shot, they're still concious. While I'd hate to imagine how being concious through this whole ordeal must be, it is a possibility. Of course, we lack technology to be able to see if this is true or not and as said, it's a long-shot."

"Oh~ You mean this is sort of like with a patient who's in a coma and has close friends and family talk to him and then he miraculously recovers, because hearing his friends and family some how made him happy and want to recover really, really fast, though he was unconcious?" America asked.

"... Er... I suppose." Japan replied.

"Well, thank you Japan for filling us in on the dead... Er... On the frozen nations. I guess it's a half-relief to know they're not really that... dead... I suppose."

"Well, I wouldn't consider them not-dead at the moment... As much as I hate to say it, there's a high chance that they're not concious, so they might as well be dead."

"Oh, cheers for the happy thought." England muttered from the back. Obviously someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today. (which was actually quite literally the case for England)

"Well... At least it satisfies our curiosity on the... dead, but not-dead... Which also brings us to our next topic. The HCS. The only reason it started existing was out of Human Curiosity. You know how humans are. When they see something that is strange and peculiar, they have two options they can follow. Ignore it, fear it or study it."

"That's three options."

"Klappe. OK, so it's three options. As said, the human can either ignore, fear or study it. In most cases, a human will pick the first option. The next common one is to pick fearing it. The least common is studying it."

"Go on."

"We've known for a long time, that even though a large percent of the human population would decide to blank us, there is that minority of people, who can choose to either fear or study us. I think the HCS is a dangerous mixture of both.

The HCS obviously knew about us before the kidnap and had been running for quite a while. While all their data was deleted and most of their material burned, some information still leaked through. From AB1 we gathered some information, including a rough outline on how the HCS started. It was originally called HCA, which meant "Human Countries Anonymous."

They were a group of conspiracy theorists, convinced that there were personifications representing every country and that the government was keeping them secret from them. It was a small group, but started off international despite the size, because the group got themselves a facebook page. Anyway, so the group started small, but became bigger and bigger, having started to collect concrete information on us.

But instead of making the information public, they decided to keep it secret. They were becoming more and more curious about us, as they learned more and more about us. Eventually, HCA became the HCS... It stands for "Human Curiosity Satisfactorers". And from there, they became criminal, needing funding to run researches on us. Eventually, studying us from afar wasn't good enough, which is why the... nation-nap happened. From there, I think we all know what happened." Germany finished explaining, pausing before he continued.

"This all happened because of human curiosity (and partially fear). The question is, whether or not we made a mistake somewhere. Did we make ourselves too public or not public enough? Frankly, we need to come up with a way to stop this from happening ever again. Oh, and while we're talking about the HCS, we... can't put them on trial. While we have plenty of evidence, any information about the personel, let alone the leaders, is gone; meaning there is no one to put on trial."

"WHAT?" Germany winced, all nations having said just that one word in their own language. And everyone was at their feet. Oh, if Japan thought he had it bad...

"Look, everyone calm and sit down aru!" China said, having already been aware the HCS had left no one to blame.

Everyone glared at China, who managed to pull off a glare scarier than even Russia's, making all sit down again (although there was actually a glare-off between England and China for a while, until Sealand successfully distracted the brit).

Germany sighed, running a hand through his hair and likewise sitting down. America stood up now.

"OK, so that's everything for today. Tomorrow we're discussing our governments. We need to figure a way to get you guys to be accepted as the personifications again. It should be easy enough, but we should still have a detailed plan and a few back-ups in case something goes wrong. It won't be easy, but we'll figure something out. Meeting adjourned."

* * *

><p>Belgium sat outside the large house, a warm hot chocolate on her lap, wrapped up tightly in not only winter clothing, but several blankets as well. In her company were Italy and Liechtenstein, who needed a break from being inside the house for so long.<p>

She smiled at the two warmly, watching them build snowmen, which were supposed to look like some of the nations. This was their sixth snowman and also their sixth failed attempt on making a SnowGermany. The snowmen somehow refused to look like him, despite being on German ground.

She smiled at the thought and took a sip of her chocolate. Oh, how sweet it tasted. She relaxed on the bench and looked up at the blue skies. It was all over now. She was in Germany, away from the HCS.

She was safe. Ish. Everyone was still skirting around the rescued prisoners, as if they were afraid that if they so much as _looked_ at the ex-prisoners, they'd break. No one told them what was going on, what they were planning and what had actually happened ever since they disappeared.

The only thing she was told to do was _relax_. But how could she _relax_ if everyone was avoiding her and refusing to tell her what was going on?

It was driving her insane. Liechtenstein and Italy knew what was going on, but refused to say anything too. And this worried her. Politics was taboo. The HCS was taboo. Even her _past_ was taboo. And the rescued nations weren't given internet access or permission to leave the house, unless accompanied by certain people.

She tensed up and took another sip, frowning. She knew absolutely nothing of what was going on. She had talked to several other nations, such as Cuba, Ukraine, Estonia and Monaco, but nothing.

Suddenly, Italy and Liechtenstein were by her side and she was on the ground, hot chocolate spilled all over her... Wait, what happened? A minute ago she had just thought of the secrets being kept from her.

"Belgium? Are you OK?" Liechtenstein asked, her lip quivering in fear. Belgium looked at her confused, then turned to look at Italy.

"What happened?" Belgium asked.

"... You... You suddenly started screaming and panicking. We didn't know what was wrong with you and tried to help but you started throwing things at us and yelling at us to keep away... Then you collapsed on the floor..."

Belgium frowned. Oh dear. That wasn't good. She didn't remember this. She looked at Italy and Liechtenstein worriedly.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" She asked, sitting up. Both shook their heads and helped her to her feet.

"I think we should go inside..." Liechtenstein said, picking up the mug, which had luckily fallen on soft snow, and was therefore still in one piece. Belgium nodded slowly, a very worried expression on her face. Nations weren't supposed to go insane! ... Were they? Italy offered her his hand.

"Don't worry Belgium! Germany's looking out for us, there's nothing to worry about." Nervously, she accepted his hand and tiredly nodded in agreement.

"I suppose... Italy?"

"Si?"

"... Have you seen Netherlands or Luxembourg anywhere? I haven't seen them since I woke up."

Italy fell silent and said nothing. He then looked at her and said "They're resting somewhere else... Don't worry, when they can see you, we'll make sure they will!" He smiled at her and gripped her hand tightly, as if to comfort her.

Confused, Belgium nodded again and entered the large house. Italy let go of her hand and watched her leave, Belgium not noticing that Italy was no longer by her side.

Italy sighed and rubbed his eyes, in hopes of stopping an oncoming waterfall. Her brothers were dead. Belgium was never going to see them living, ever again.

And they still hadn't told her.

* * *

><p>For Alex Knöpfer, it was an average, boring day. In fact, it was his first average, boring day in fifty years. And he was hating every single second of it.<p>

He absolutely hated it. Why? It was quite simple. He hated the reason he was having a normal day. Everything, and he meant _everything_ he had worked for, for so long, went and bit the dust in just a little over two weeks. All because of that blasted leader guy.

He had only been in his early thirties! Of course the _boy_ was going to mess up royally! What did the old leader mean "He is gifted"? Alex knew more about how to run the Group in his pinky finger than that boy did in his whole body!

But no one cared. They had wanted someone young to work there, someone who would last a long time.

He knew the HCS hated having leaders that only lasted roughly twenty years, but giving it to someone young and inexperienced? That was _begging_ for everything to go horribly, horribly wrong.

"Grossvater? Grossvater, was ist los?" His grandson asked, trying to catch his grandfather's attention. The man frowned, turning his attention to the grandson he hadn't known existed.

He always thought that after abandoning his wife and son, neither would want anything to do with him. While it was true on his wife's side, it wasn't for the son. When he finally found his father again, he was eager to make him part of his life again, involving his son as well; in hopes that this would encourage the elderly man to want to too.

It wasn't working. Not really. Alex sighed and patted his grandson on his head, giving the boy a fake smile.

"Nichts. Alles ist in Ordnung." The man replied. OK, so maybe it _was_ working. Just a bit. His grandson showed a lot of interest in sciences and paranormal activity. He also lacked trust in strangers, a path that would surely lead to him becoming suspicious of the government and then eventually a conspiracy theorist, whose theories were actually _true_.

Unlike with Alex' son, he saw his grandson as a potential scientific genious, who would grow up to be somewhat like himself. And he loved his grandson for that. The boy wrinkled his nose, and took a slurp from his slush puppie( a slush puppie? In the middle of winter? Really?), eyeing his grandfather suspiciously, but not saying anything.

Yes. Alex Knöpfer deffinitely loved his grandson a lot. The boy had a brilliant and wonderful life ahead of him, filled with aliens, mad scientists and countries. Alex chuckled to himself, then looked out of the café window. Alex hadn't been to Berlin very often an. He had spent a lot more time devoted to the HCS, spending the long winters and summers there, studying with great interest the nations.

They were such beautiful creatures. Their biological structures were a lot better than that of a human and their personalities, or to be specific, their _will power_ was a lot stronger. After all, almost a century later, they still dared to try escape? That took quite some will power. Frankly, Alex had fallen in love with them. Maybe that was why he left his wife.

He found that the nations were a thousand times more beautiful than any human, on physical, biological and any other given levels. Maybe he had fallen in love with them. Either that, or he loved his job.

Maybe both.

But of course, as much as he loved the countries, he hated them. He was researching how come they didn't age when they tore down the HCS. Of course, this was the new HCS leader's fault, but whatever.

Now when he saw a nation, instead of feeling the love he had for them, he would fill with lust. He used to be quite gentle when experimenting on them, but now he would love to carry out the exact same experiments, minus the softness and filled with a lot more "accidental" miscalculated cuts.

"Grossvater?" The grandson asked, worried about the creepy face his grandfather was making. This time however, Alex ignored him. The boy continued slurping at his drink, deciding he would go into great detail, about how _weird_ his grandfather was, once he saw his dad again.

Alex stared out the window and blinked.

He blinked again.

Without thinking, he rushed out the door, forgetting that he hadn't paid and that he had a _child_ with him.

He had seen one. He had seen _one_. And it was accompanied by a nation he had never truly gotten to see under the magnifying glass.

England. And he was in company of China, both seeming to talk to each other merrily. Under closer inspection, Alex noticed that they were _not_ talking to each other merrily.

They were having a restrained, polite conversation. Or rather, a quiet and spiteful arguement, that involved a lot of sneering and jabs.

He could hear what it was about, but unfortunately for him, they weren't speaking in a language he recognised.

They were speaking in the language of the nations. A language no human could ever learn to understand. Another thing that made the difference between nation and country bigger.

Nations had a common language all of them could use.

Humans didn't.

Now he was curious. If his subconcious had been thinking about his grandson and the restaurant, that too would have been long forgotten by now, his mind overflooded with curious questions and burning hatred and anger.

England.

He had been one of the nations to escape.

The first time was admirable. But the second time, England actually escaped. Along with a whole bunch of other nations.

And while he knew that England wasn't alone in this whole situation (a lot of other nations had escaped and played key role in the great escape) England was the first nation he had seen walking freely outside the HCS.

And he hated him. Especially since it seemed England had recovered his eyesight. Damn Brit.

He quietly stalked China and England, wanting to know what they were doing in Germany. Following them lead him to a large house, which really should be described as a mansion. It was surrounded by a large, snow-covered garden, which could easily pass as a park, several people... No, after closer inspection, they were actually nations... So, it had several nations wandering around the grounds.

He gaped, recognising some of the nations as the prisoners that failed to escape a year ago.

Darn. They had set the prisoners free.

Well, Alex would be lying if he said he hadn't expected that. What with England having remembered where every HCS-base was on the planet, it was only a matter of time until they had saved them.

Now he hated the nations even more and yet still burned inside with not just hatred and anger.

He stood there a while, watching China and England open the large gates surrounding the house and garden, and then closing it quietly. They trailed towards the house, greeting a young, _human_ man, who was busy shovelling the paths again, getting the snow out of the way.

Alex stood their, glaring at them. He hated the countries. He hated the nations. He looked at the human boy, shovelling snow, pausing briefly to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Suddenly, Alex was hit by a brilliant idea.

* * *

><p>England and America sat on a bench in the garden, both watching some of the "younger" nations having a snowfight. To England's surprise, America wasn't joining in, but then again, the young nation hadn't had much sleep lately, if the black bags under America's eyes had anything to say about it.<p>

Ugh, if he had paid more attention to America, the American would also be playing with the others. But his focus had been pretty much everywhere, rushing from one nation to the other. He had acted like a mother hen, looking after everyone a little bit, checking to see if they were OK or not.

Of course, he wasn't doing this because he cared or wanted to help them or anything! The sooner they got better, the sooner they could kick the HCS' backside and go back to normal. Yes, he was doing it for the sake of himself, not for them, because he doesn't care about them! It had ABSOLUTELY NOTHINg to do with him being worried about them or caring about them or anything. Because that would mean he was some how nice and had a sensitive side, _which he doesn't_!

England looked over to America, who seemed to be on the brink of sleeping. Sighing, England stuffed his gloved hands into his pockets.

"America, go take a nap. I can tell you want one."

"Hm? Wha' you say?"

"What did you say. Use proper English. I told you to go take a nap." America frowned, pushing his glasses up and rubbing his eyes.

"No~ Don' wanna. Naps're for old people."

"America, I will not repeat myself. Use proper English. Besides, naps are just as well for overgrown babies like you."

"You know that's not true." America replied. "I've never taken a nap before. But I've seen you going to sleep at the most random of moments. And you're old. So napping must be for old peopl- Ouch! What was that for?" America wimpered, having been clipped behind the head by England.

"For being a git. And if you don't go indoors for a nap right now I... Uh..."

"You what?" America dared.

"I won't make any scones for you!" England said brightly, thinking himself a pure genius.

"Dude. Your food tastes like crud. No wait, crud tastes better than your food. I'm happy staying out here."

England glowered, but managed to miraculously restrain his anger at the comment, though the idea of bloody murder was becoming more and more appealing to him.

"OK, then how about this. If you don't take a nap _right_ _now_, I _will_ feed you some scones. If you do take a nap, I won't give you any."

"Dude, that's like blackmail."

"It's not though."

"That's besides the point."

Sighing, America got off the bench, a smile forming on his face.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing. It's just so peaceful."

"... We're very likely to be on the brink of world war 3." America silenced and looked away. He looked up at the grey skies, then back at England, his eyes rimmed with tiredness.

"Yeah, but it's just another war. As shocking and horrible as it will be... It'll blow over. We just need to remember that as certain as every night must end, so must every war." He mumbled.

"I think I'll go to bed now. My head hurts." He then added as he swayed a little. England looked at him with surprise and shock written all over his face, but without saying a thing. Once America had disappeared into the house, England stared blankly at the scenery in front of him.

"I must be getting old. I think I've just witnessed my most childish ex-colony maturing." He muttered, letting a ghost of a smile crossover his face.

Then he got hit in the face by a snowball.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong>

**(German) Klappe: Shut up (I'm not sure if this is Swiss German or High German. The two languages kind of blur a bit, in my opinion)**

**(German) Wieso?: Why?  
><strong>

**(Japanese, written in our alphabet) Hai: Yes. (Although, I'm pretty sure you're all familiar with that one. :P )  
><strong>

**(German) Grossvater? Grossvater, was ist los?: Grandfather? Grandfather, what's wrong? (note that "Was ist Los" can also mean "What's going on?" or "What's up?")  
><strong>

**(German) Nichts. Alles ist in Ordnung: Nothing. Everything's OK.  
><strong>

**I think one of the reasons why so much German turned up in this chapter is probably my personal need to show off. Well, if YOU were bilingual, would YOU keep it to yourself? :P OK. I might be a bit arrogant (coughcoughalotcoughcough). Hope you forgive me. ^.^**

* * *

><p><strong>GOODNESS! ALEX KNÖPFER IS SUCH A PERV! HIDE YO NATIONS AND YO CHILDREN DUDES! I don't know why he happened. But good grief, he's such a perv. ... Either that or he's an obsessed Fangirl. :P<strong>

**I'm sorry that this chapter isn't so well written. While there are some good bits, there are also a lot of bad bits. I tried figuring ways to make the bad bits flow better, but eventually gave up. :( Hope no one minds too much!  
><strong>

**Question: Should I rewrite the summary? Because I've read a far better one else where, so I'm curious as to know what you think.  
><strong>

**Whoop, another long chapter. Hope everyone doesn't mind. :) (It's 4'500 words long. AGAIN. Can you believe that? Wonder how long these chapters will stay... long.)  
><strong>

**Review?  
><strong>


	26. Chapter 25

"I think this is a bad idea Sealand..." Liechtenstein muttered, walking next to him, as they walked together to the kitchen (in search of China's sweets).

"How come?" Sealand asked, not really paying attention.

"Well, it's just that with all this political tension, we really shouldn't drop such a big shell on the world. What if they take it the wrong way? By telling them, we might cause world war three."

Sealand shrugged.

"Look, the guys dealing with these stuff are older than both of us, not just physically. I'm sure they know what they're doing."

"Mmh..." Liechtenstein replied, completely unconvinced. "Are we going to tell the others what's going on?" She asked after a moment.

"Why does everyone automatically assume I know everything?" Sealand whined in reply, staring at the floor. Honestly, some other nations had been bothering him about this all day now. _Sealand__, do you know if we're going to tell the others? You know, the one's who got stuck with the HCS? _Sealand irritatedly mimicked in his head.

Why? Why did they think he knew?

"I was just wondering. You're England's brother, and since he's kinda a control freak, I assumed he'd know what was going on and that you'd squeeze the information out of him and then know yourself." Liechtenstein hurriedly explained, looking at the floor nervously.

"Eh? You think England's a control freak?"

"Well... I did spend a year with him as Lilli. I do think I should know him at least a little bit." Liechtenstein replied.

"So you think he's a jerk too?" Sealand asked interestedly.

Liechtenstein blushed and frowned. When did this become an interrogation?

"Nein... I just think he can be a bit of a control freak at times. He's very nice though (when he wants to be). Anyway, do you or do you not know if we're going to tell the others?"

"Er... Well... China thinks they're going to be stable enough to handle the truth soon. They're still a bit unstable though. I mean, Seychelles broke down again recently, so yeah... We'll probably tell them in a week or two..." Sealand said, entering the kitchen.

"OK... I just can't wait until... Until next year I guess. Most of this should have cleared up by then..." Liechtenstein said, helping Sealand raid the sweets-cupboard, by holding the items Sealand was piling into her arms.

"Mhm." Sealand said, biting into a cookie.

"... Hey, Sealand?"

"Yeah?"

"How are you handling... Handling Sweden anyway?" Sealand didn't reply and carried on walking. "Not as badly as Finland will." Sealand said, quickening his pace.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to talk about such a sensitive topic. I... I was just curious. Sorry. I didn't think."

"It's OK. I mean, I know you also aren't handling things well... I mean... How are you handling... Switzerland?"

"Er... I..." Liechtenstein was quiet too. An awkward pause settled between the two, as they made their way to the main living area.

"Hey Liechtenstein?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you know Germany's hired some house staff. He doesn't want any of us working unnecessarily, so he employed some humans. We've got a cleaner now."

"Really? I haven't seen anyone new around here... I've seen the gardeners, who're keeping the paths clear outside, but otherwise..."

"They seem to be avoiding us, nothing to worry about. So far, only Spain and Germany have seen the cleaner... He's called Alex Knöpfer or something."

"Alex Knöpfer? I wonder why that rings a bell..."

"Same here. Never mind..."

* * *

><p>Alex was very satisfied with himself. Sneaking into the nations' current hideout was easier than he had originally thought. He got a job. As a cleaner.<p>

Admittedly, he had to wait a few days before he could even apply, since he had to clean up the mess he created after abandoning his grandson in a café, but it was worth the wait.

Getting to know the house inside was exactly what he needed for his sabotage. The only downsides were that he really _did_ have to clean, in order to not be suspicious and that he was surrounded by nations.

If only he could get rid of them for a few hours, he could properly explore the house and find out where they were keeping _them_. He felt like he would never get the chance though. Sadly...

So, he made do with what he had; Sneaking around in the dark when no one was looking. He started on the ground floor and made his way up.

Once finished with cleaning, he sighed frustrated. Nothing. He couldn't find them anywhere, nore could he find any signs that indeed, nations and not humans were currently residing here. It infuriated him. A lot.

Sighing, he sought out Germany.

"Herr Beilschmidt, is there anything else I need to clean? Like the basement or attic?" He asked. Germany spun on his heel at suddenly being talked to, but quickly recomposed himself. He hummed in thought, then shook his head.

"Nein. At least, not unless someone's let En- Arthur cook again or something-"

"WHO LET YOU COOK?"

"SHUT UP YOU BLOODY STUPID GIT! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE BLACK AND SMOKING! I think..."

"DUDE! DUDE! THE BLACK STUFF HAS JUST STOOD UP AND STARTED WALKING LIKE A FREAKING ZOMBIE!"

"STOP SHOUTING! I CAN SEE THAT!"

Alex watched Germany's reaction carefully, noting that the German looked worried and annoyed at the same time. He sighed deeply, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Which could technically be true...

"Sorry Herr Knöpfer. I'm afraid you're probably going to be needed in the kitchen-"

"DUDE, IT'S NOT DYING!"

"I CAN _SEE_ THAT!"

"THE AWESOME ME HAS AN AWESOME FLAME THROWER! KESESESESE~"

"... But I'd leave it a while if I were you." Germany added; the back of his mind wondering where the heck Prussia had gotten a flame thrower from.

"DAMN IT! IT'S GROWING YOU DOLT!"

"YOU MADE IT! SHUT UP!"

"WHO THE HECK LET ENGLAND COOK?"

"WOMAN! I NEED YOUR FRYING PA- OW! OW! STOP THAT!"

"STOP SHOUTING!"

"GAH~ ! I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER! AH! IT'S GOING TO EAT ME! AH GERMANY~! I'M SO SCARED!"

"OH MY GOODNESS! IT JUST ATE-"

"... A _long_ while. And I'll pay you extra."

"Ja, Herr Beilschmidt. Danke." Alex replied, rather confused at the noises coming from the kitchen above him. He frowned. Maybe he should have treated the nations as guests, rather than prisoners. They did seem a lot more interesting when they weren't tring to kill 24/7.

And the HCS had failed to ever study the Nations as... As people. To see how they interacted between each other and humans. How close they built their relationships. It soon occured to Alex that no one had bothered studying the Countries on a psychological level. What a mistake to make.

But never mind. The past was the past. The nations surely wouldn't want to interact with them on a social level. And besides, they weren't that human. They were beings with human-like characteristics. That was all. They only represented how people felt towards other nations. They didn't have their own personalities or their own opinions. They blindly did as their people told them to.

That was it.

Nothing human about them.

Alex sighed. Oh, but if they were human...

Never mind.

He walked down the long, empty hallways (most nations, no doubt, were busy sorting out the mess England had quite literally created), searching for a door leading downstairs.

After quite a while of searching, Alex finally found something that looked like a basement door. He had actually walked passed it several times, because the door wasn't very noticeable and was partially hidden away.

Carefully, he walked up to the door and opened it. He frowned in disappointment, discovering it really was just an ordinairy basement. He entered and looked around curiously. It looked very worn-down in comparison to the newly furnished rooms and seemed to be a bit abandoned and a bit... sad.

There was a desk covered in paper in one corner and a bookcase in the other. Alex ignored them for now, running upstairs to get his cleaning kit. He was a cleaner after all, or at least, at the moment he was. He took his job very, very seriously, no matter what, even if it was a "pretendy" job or not.

When he came back, he started in the furthest corner, where a lot of cobwebs had gathered, muling in his thoughts. What he had wanted to do most was kill off the rest of the nations, but sadly, he no longer had the necessary chemicals at his disposal to kill them.

Neither did he have enough people. With the HCS having disposed themselves, Alex found he was unable to track... Anyone. Especially their idiotic leader.

That guy had disappeared shortly after selling the _HCS'_ difficult-to-make, self-developed, high-tec Weaponry. For someone who had just made "easy millions" or even _billions_, he sure knew how to live like he didn't exist.

If Alex ever got his hands on the _boy's_ neck, he'd... He'd...

Er...

_Is that a door?_ Alex asked himself, walking over to something glinting behind the bookcase curiously. When he pushed the bookcase aside, he found that, indeed, it was a door. A large metallic one, completely new and shiny. Again, he curiously opened the door.

This man had more curiosity than was good for your average man. Not that he was... Average.

He gasped at what he saw. Rows and rows and _rows_...

Of what he'd been looking for.

He grinned.

He entered.

He finished.

* * *

><p>America paced up and down the corridor, frustrated. So, his government demanded he come home. Because he spent a few days (a few weeks) away from home, without telling anyone where he was going or why.<p>

It was just a few measly days! (weeks). He'd done that in the past! Heck, he'd been away for _months_ on end and no one minded! Sure, it'd been during the cold war, when he visited a lot of his "allies" (Germany) in order to tease the Soviet Union (specifically Russia), but that was beside the point (OK, so he spent a few days there, before Germany forcefully sent him home...)!

Honestly, part of the reason why he had left England in the first place, was so that he wouldn't get controlled by _any__one_ any more! Why doesn't his government _get that_? Did they _want him_ to rebel against them _too_?

Thing was, was that he couldn't go back home. Not yet. Not with everyone adjusting to the sudden changes. Not with half the world stuck defenselessly in Germany, with only fifteen and a few weaklings to protect them.

They needed their hero to be with _them_.

But his government naturally wasn't having any of it. Strange that they would only show an interest _once he disappears_. He should have done that ten years ago, when he was bored and had nothing to do. Stupid idiot...

OK, so his sudden disappearance may have worried them, what with the legendary WW3 possibly on its merry way, but come on. They were Americans! Even if World war 3 _did_ break out, they wouldn't join in until absolutely necessary! Absolutely necessary being of course, turning up like the calvary and saving everyone's sorry butts.

Just like in WW1 and WW2 and...

"Ow! What was that for?"

"England asked me to do that to you, just now." Germany replied, standing behind America. Germany had a stoic expression on his face, but his eyes twinkled with mirth. While it had been creepy that England had known America was standing right next to Germany while he was walking passed him, he had no complaints.

"Yeah, but why does Iggy want you to- Ow! Hey, will you quit that?" America demanded, after Germany whacked him behind the head again.

"That was for calling him Iggy apparently." Germany said. America only then noticed the phone Germany was holding in his one hand, by his ear.

"Is that Iggy on the pho- Ha! Missed! Ow! Seriously. Not even England whacks me that often..."

"He's shorter than you. He can only reach you if you're unaware of the danger." Germany curtly explained.

"What was the first hit for anyway?" America moaned in complaint.

"Not sure. England said he just felt like you were mentally insulting the whole world again or something. He's drunk."

"He's drunk?"

"With Prussia, Spain and anyone else they could convince to tag along. Or anyone else, that was traumatized enough from England's cooking to go..."

"But... Why is he drunk? I've not even had dinner yet! It's way too early to go drinking! Why're they drinking anyway? I don't get it!"

"You didn't honestly think they'd stay sober for long, did you? I'm surprised England hasn't touched alcohol in weeks. It was just a matter of time."

"B-but... But that means I have to deal with angry British rants again or possibly even angry Pirate rants... Bleh, the last one's the worst type of rant. He really only ever does those when he's really, _really_ drunk. He's always so demeaning to me then... He constantly claims I'm not a real man; he's always belittling my manhood... You know?"

Germany sighed, deciding that that had been too much information.

"Wait, if he's drunk, why's he calling you?"

"He's not. Technically not. Originally, it was Prussia calling me, asking if I wanted to join them. But he kinda lost the phone and England got it instead."

"Oh... What's England talking about?"

"Er... Most of it's in Old English, so it's hard to follow... I think it's something about... Rainbow... Ponies..."

"Wait; Dude! Seriously?"

"America. No. No drinking. You're underage."

"What? I'm over four hundred years old! No way am I underage!"

"You look nineteen."

"... Ah, but you can legally drink at eighteen here!"

"I have special rules for Americans. They're not allowed to drink until twenty-one."

"Hey! You just made that up!"

"Yes. And now it's law."

"Aw, but that's not fair~ I just want to see Prussia, Spain and Iggy talking complete nons- Ow!"

"I'm still on the phone America. He can just about hear you."

"You don't have to follow his orders!" America whined. "Besides, I may look nineteen, but I'm really, really old! Like, as said, _four_ hundred years old?"

"I beg to differ. You have the brains of a three year old." Germany replied.

"Dude, wake up. Half the world is like that."

"... England just asked if you really did just call yourself really, really old."

"Wha-? N-no I didn't! I didn't say a thing! I am not an old man, like ENGLAND. Ow! Seriously, what is it with _you_ and _following orders_?"

"I follow orders I like. Anyway. No drinking. No watching their drunk rants either. No gathering blackmail material. If they want to die a slow, premature death and reveal their darkest secrets to complete strangers, then so be it."

"Dude, they're nations. They don't die of alcohol poisoning."

"No, but they will suffer from alcohol poisoning and be forced into cold turkey for a while."

"What has Turkey got to do with this?"

"... Never mind. Go find Japan and tell him I'll need him in about three hours."

"Three hours? Why three hours?"

"That'll be when they're finally thrown out. Or out cold. Depends on how strong the alcohol is."

* * *

><p><strong>Tadaa, the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Not much happened and the stuff that did happen? Crackkkk.. :D Sorry, I really didn't plan on England's food becoming alive at all or eating someone, but uh...<strong>

**Yeah. Crack. Sorry. Crack is the result of too much school stress and lack of nerves of steel. ^^;  
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**Oh, and I've realised Fanfiction is missing to categories. Fluff. And Crack. Seriously. We need those two categories. They're the AWESOMEST THINGS EVER. Besides not being officially recognised genres, of course. :D  
><strong>

**On other news, I've prematurely launched my probable next multi-chapter, called "The Magician". If you wana read it, you can...  
><strong>

**I would prefer a review though. Here. On this story. So yeah.  
><strong>

**LOVE YOU GUYS! THANK YOU FOR 140 REVIEWS!  
><strong>

**Oh, and uh... This only just managed 3000 words. Short chapter. he... ^^;  
><strong>


	27. epilogue

It was way past midnight. But Liechtenstein couldn't sleep. Not only was there a loud thunderstorm directly above them, accompanied by heavy rainfall, loud thunder and bright lightning, but ever since finding out that Switzerland may be... Concious, the urge to see him, despite the horrible state he was probably in, became bigger and bigger with each passing night.

She climbed out of bed, careful not to wake up anyone she was sharing her room with. Hungary, Belgium, Ukraine and Seychelles continued sleeping peacefully, unaware of her sneaking out of the room. None of the four snored, so she had to be extra quiet. She finally reached the room's door and opened it gently. She frowned when she heard loud snoring in the corridor.

Obviously, not all nations bothered closing their bedroom doors and obviously didn't know they snored loudly. She closed the bedroom door and sneaked down the corridor. She was going to visit Switzerland. With the elements outside trying to tear the skies apart with lightning, she doubted she'd be able to sleep anyway.

She was a light sleeper and so she usually wasn't able to sleep when surrounded by loud noises, directly above her. She held the edges of her nightie nervously. What if Switzerland looked really bad? The others had mentioned that some looked pretty bad, due to the really bad treatment they got before being... Frozen. But... But she couldn't help her self! If Switzerland really _was_ concious, she had to tell him personally that she was OK and that she'd figure a way for him to be alright too, eventually.

She snuck down the stairs, flinching at every single squeak they made. Why was the house covered in old, wooden floorboards? She felt like someone would catch her sneaking around at any given moment. There were other nations which slept lightly, so it wouldn't surprise her if the squeaking floorboards _did_ wake them up.

Finally, she was on the ground floor. She crept through the empty corridors again, reaching the basement. She turned the light on. The tiny bulb above her flickered and she gave a shudder. She was in a big, old house, in the middle of a thunderstorm, in a basement with a flickering light and with barely any decorations in absolute silence.

It was like something out of a horror film. She snuck over to the bookcase. She so badly wished she hadn't joined the horror-marathon with the other nations. The thoughts of monsters jumping out at any given moment, to devour her, clouded her mind, as she pushed the bookcase away with difficulty.

She took a deep breath. _It's OK Liechtenstein. This is real life. Not a horror film. Everything is perfectly fine. Just go in, find Switzerland and go out. Easy._

_Sure, the others won't be happy if they find out, but I _must_ see Bruder again..._

With as much courage as she could summon, Liechtenstein pushed the door between her and the dead wide open. Just then, the lights failed. There was a loud clash of thunder. Liechtenstein frowned. Of all the times for that stupid bulb to go out...

She relaxed a little and entered, making her way down the stairs.

As she made her way down the few steps, she realised she couldn't see a thing. Where were the lights in here? She slowly got off the last step, only to quickly withdraw her bare foot.

She had felt something wet... Was it... Was it raining in here? No, of course not... But... Why?

Cautiously, she let her foot hover above the presumable water. She carefully dunked it in. It could be rain water. It was so cold... She gasped, realising the water was several inches deep. That's a lot of water.

Why... Why was the floor wet? Why was it covered in a few inches of water? She picked up her nightie and bravely took a few steps into the water, carefully making her way over to the lights. Why was she so frightened? Her instincts were screaming at her to run far, far away and forget the dead nations existed. But she ignored them. She turned the lights on, then turned around to see the rows and rows of pods, in which the frozen nations were kept...

Or at least... _Should_ be kept. She paled. All the pods were... They were all empty. Not only devoid of nations, but of ice as well. But... Where... Where were...? Her eyes slowly looked down to the floor, at her soaking wet feet. The water was cold. But it wasn't normal water.

It was thinned-down red.

She screamed the house awake.

* * *

><p><em>.<br>_

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_Six years later, after World War Three and after the surviving nations regained their status as the representations of countries...  
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The ex-leader of the HCS had made it quite good for himself in the last few years, having left the world to live by himself in his secluded mansion, somewhere in China.

He sighed, stirring his drink. Despite his riches, he was still under a lot of stress. He'd been keeping tabs on the ex-members of the HCS, waiting for when they could become a group again.

Assuming there was anyone left that is.

You see, there was a _reason_ why he was stressed. The HCS ex-members were all dying. Or, as he knew it to be, they were all being _killed_.

While it wasn't always obvious someone had murdered them, some were brutally and often cruelly obvious. He gulped. Someone knew where every member of the HCS was living and was killing them off one by one.

It was only a matter of time until they finally reached him. And that was what was unsettling him. He had already installed as much security as he could, but he still found no rest.

They had killed Alex Knöpfer, who was fourth in command, and the rest of the HCS high command, just two months ago. Most of the HCS was killed off. In five years, that was more than a thousand people murdered.

And now... Now there was only the "unimportant" HCS members left (the ones unaware of what they were even doing there) and... him.

They were coming after him next. He took another sip of his very fine wine. His hands were shaking, as they had been ever since Knöpfer's death. He was heavily armed with machine guns, hand grenades, swords, shotguns and other small, miscellaneous weapons. And even with his security put on high alert, his anxiety still wouldn't be calmed.

It never would be. Not until they attacked him. He sat in his living room, staring blankly at the computers surrounding him. He was so scared. He wished he had never gotten involved with the HCS. He wished he had never become curious. _Damn_ his stupid curiosity.

As said, curiosity killed the cat. For a while, he had always laughed at that. But now he realised how true the words were.

Curiosity took the biscuit, killed the cat and left the nations broken.

And now, it had reduced to him to a shivering mess, that would probably be dead very, very soon.

He had already made his will and planned where the money would go. But having done all these preparations didn't make him feel any better.

There was a knock on the front door. The man shot out of his chair and ran to the head computer, controlling the security cameras. He checked who it was. A tall man was standing in front of the camera; scarf tightly wrapped around his neck and iron pipe in hand.

The man looked up at the camera and gave it an almost childish smile.

"_I do not appreciate being killed, da?_"

* * *

><p><strong>The End. :(<strong>

**I'd actually put a long list of thanks to everyone who supported/read/enjoyed this story, however, I'm too scared to. I'm not used to writing endings (because half the time I abandon them, before even finishing), so I'm pretty bad at it. :( **

**Hope you enjoyed it, despite the ending. **

**... Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hide in my nuclear bunker. I think I may be safe there from all my wonderful readers, favouriters and subscribers... I think... I've got a 5% chance of not being gruesomely murdered there anyway, so...**


	28. another epilogue

New Zealand woke up in the middle of the night, finding that he once again couldn't sleep. He frowned and sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Ever since America had called him, he felt like he'd been missing out on a lot of stuff.

He didn't know why, he just did.

Also, since the call, New Zealand had been completely unable to sleep. He would wake up five to six times during the night, with his mind still wondering why he felt like he was missing out on something big.

Sighing, he picked up his phone, dialling the person that had started these feelings. He sighed and waited for America to pick up his phone, not caring about what time it was in America.

"_Hel-_" America started, all the way over in the USA.

"America, have I missed out on anything big recently?" New Zealand cut America off, pouting into the phone. There was a long pause, as New Zealand waited patiently for an answer. The silence continued and New Zealand soon realised that he would have to prompt an answer out of America.

"America?" New Zealand asked. Then America finally reacted to New Zealand's question (Sort of).

"SHIT! I _KNEW_ I FORGOT SOMETHING! New Zealand, I need you to come over to the USA ASAP! No buts, or whens, you _need to come over_! This is really important! See you in a few!" America ordered, before hanging up.

New Zealand blinked.

New Zealand blinked again.

He stared blankly at his phone.

_What the heck? _He thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Some reviewers complained that the end was too "BAM! I've ENDED!" and too sudden, and also that a few things were unclear, so... After some consideration and thinking about it for a while, I decided to make...<strong>

**"Human Curiosity: The Bonus Chapters"! :D  
><strong>

**It's a series of one-shots based around the Human Curiosity story. Some will be complete Crack, others will be Drama. Promised One-shots will be (for example) a timeline, of what happened between Liechtenstein's discovery in the epilogue and Russia appearing on the Leader's doorstep (who I called Joe Stevenson by the way. Because I'm a derp.)  
><strong>

**I was originally going to simply post the series of One-Shots without any notifications to anyone, but I thought my Human Curiosity-subscribers should at least get to know about it. Then I realised I have 73 subscribers (all of which I absolutely love by the way :D) and that PMing all of them would be suicide.  
><strong>

**SO I wrote another chapter for this story, in order to announce it. Plus, I never actually bothered thanking you guys properly. (And seriously? No one noticed how New Zealand ever participated in any of the event, despite being around? New Zealand fans, where are you when I need you?)  
><strong>

**WARNING: The next part of the A/N is a bucket load of thanks. Procede with caution.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>THANK YOU REVIEWERS FOR REVIEWING! I would offer you internet cookies, but my cooking skillls are even worse than Englands. D-X So you can request a One-Shot for the Bonus Chapters instead, if you wish. Just keep in mind that I don't do gore or anything that even suggests romance.<br>(And no, anyone who leaves a review after reading this, will not get the same "reward" :P Shoulda reviewed)  
><strong>

**I'm afraid, that my dear anonymous reviewers don't get the same treatment. :( Don't worry, you can have Digital Gilbirds instead (and so can everyone else, who leaves a review after this chappie). :)  
><strong>

**Thank you, favouriters, for favouriting. Here, have some imaginary Unicorns, that you can only see, if you have the Sight. :D (be warned, they can be quite vicious)  
><strong>

**And to my subscribers:**

**Thank you... (deep breath)  
><strong>

**adecchi yoshi, alexdemyx, APH1168kittens, Aunsa, , BakaHaruChan, Blari, Blue Wallpaper, BuffyandBramble, Chelseaj500, cheshiresapprentice, cow-splodge, curse-of-the-cat, Death-Sama01, Doodlebugg, , dyslexic-Carmie, Echo Bancroft, Elentia, Final Symphony, FlyingRaven, H2Obelow0, Haru1597, HonestLiar33, i am veeery bored, IcarusWing, iiieatapples, , iNatix, JapanManiac, KaoruTheRandomBookworm, Kasrkin-Ghost, kirby163, kirin-saga, Koure, littlemsbookworm, littleshadowfox, Lone Star Gazer15, Loulybob, LunesWraith, maple lover, midnightsdawn54, MidoriChama, MissAleatory, musik-fan-95, Nessie-DoMiSol, Nightstar-27, NONAMESWEREAVAILABLE, now you see me, Oletta, Painted Scales, PossessedTypewriter, Quirkyotaku, Rainstorm-Mosspath, Randomstrike, Sakurai Haruka, ScatteredSands, Tabbyprincess, TallonRief, tazzy200, The Evil Dreamer, the-destiny-of-one, TheBadlyNamedUser, Thebigfoot021, TurtoAud, uber-puppies, VampireloverD, Vincent Sansa Halestrom, WithDivinity, Withering Wind, Wolf-girl-Artemis, XIII-Jinx-XIII, xxSweet Memory and ZQ**

**(out of breath) thank you all for subscribing and following this story. :D (never gonna make such a big list. Ever. Again.)  
><strong>

**Anyway, that's all I wanted to say (yeah, for THAT I wrote a short drabble) THANK YOU AGAIN! See you, maybe, in the Bonus Chapters. :D  
><strong>


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